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The Heart of Our Community Deserves Our Care By Lisa Burton

AJ Woodson
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The Heart of Our Community Deserves Our Care By Lisa Burton

When people think about the New Rochelle Public Library, they often think about books. But for many of us, especially in communities like ours, the Library has always been much more than that.  

It is one of the few truly shared civic spaces we have left.  

For the Black community, for Latino families, for residents across every part of New Rochelle from the South Side to the North End, the Library is a place where everyone can come together.  It is a center for learning, for culture, for music and art, and for connection. It is where children attend after-school programs and summer activities. It is where families begin their early learning journeys. And it is where seniors come not just for services, but for community.  

The Library does all of this on a very limited budget. It has been innovative and resourceful in how it serves people. But the truth is, the building itself has not kept up.  

The infrastructure is aging. Systems like heating and cooling, which are essential to the Library’s role, are no longer where they need to be. And that matters more than people may realize.  

The Library is one of the city’s designated cooling and warming centers. That is not just a convenience—it is a necessity. Many residents in New Rochelle live in older housing, where rising utility costs make it harder to keep homes comfortable year-round. During extreme weather, the Library becomes a place of relief and safety, especially for seniors. If those systems fail, it leaves a real gap in how we care for one another.  

As a homeowner, I think about this in a broader way. A strong community is about shared spaces that bring people together. A community without a heart is not a place where people want to stay, grow, or invest.  

And the Library is that heart.  

I’ve seen it in everyday moments, and I’ve seen it in times of crisis. Be it Superstorm Sandy or  Hurricane Ida, when storms disrupt our lives and leave many without power or communication in its aftermath, the Library is a safe haven. It is the place where people can charge their phones,  get information, and find one another. That kind of presence matters—and it should not be taken for granted.  

The role of the Library has also evolved. More than just a quiet place to read, it is a place where people gather, collaborate, and build community. Across Westchester, libraries are being revitalized to reflect how people live today with spaces to meet, learn, and connect. New  Rochelle deserves that same level of care and investment.  

There is also something deeper at stake.  

The Library stands alongside Ruby Dee Park, and its theater honors Ossie Davis, two figures who embodied Black excellence and whose lives were rooted in this community. Their legacy is a living reminder that our stories, our culture, and our contributions are central to the identity of  New Rochelle. And it matters that the Library carries that legacy forward.  

This is also about timing and responsibility. 

We know that the cost of borrowing does not stay the same—it rises. Acting now, while the city is in a strong financial position, is a more responsible way to invest in something we know we will need. Waiting only makes the work more expensive and the need more urgent.  

Investing in the revitalization of the Library is about honoring the past, meeting the needs of today, and preparing for the future.  

We have an opportunity now to care for something that has long cared for us. It is a moment to be informed, to be engaged, and to take part in shaping what comes next.  

Make a plan to vote on May 19. Be sure to turn over the ballot and vote YES. Because this is not just a building, it is the heart of our community, and its future is in our hands. Our Library. Our Future.  

– Lisa Burton is a long-time resident of New Rochelle.

Healthy Aging Workshop Brings White Plains Older Adults Together to Connect, Build Healthy Habits

AJ Woodson
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Healthy Aging Workshop Brings White Plains Older Adults Together to Connect, Build Healthy Habits

White Plains — Dozens of older adults attended a Healthy Aging Workshop at the Thomas H. Slater Community Center, located at 2 Fisher Ct., in White Plains, on Monday, April 27th.

The event, hosted by Healthfirst, a leading not-for-profit health insurer, gave senior citizens a chance to interact and learn useful strategies for promoting their physical and mental well-being, such as stress management, developing healthy habits, and recognizing when to seek medical attention. Jewel Williams Johnson, a Westchester County legislator and the chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators Health Committee, spoke about the importance of community ties and collaborations in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Westchester County Legislator Jewel Williams-Johnson [Black Westchester]

“The Slater Center is a vital part of District 8, and the older adults who gather here play an important role in keeping our community connected and strong. I’m proud to support Healthfirst in delivering workshops like this to our residents, strengthening their mental health and overall well-being,” said Jewel Williams Johnson, Westchester County Legislator, 8th District

Nearly 50 Westchester older adults gathered at the Thomas H. Slater Community Center in White Plains, New York, on Monday, April 27, for a Healthy Aging Workshop presented by Healthfirst, a leading not-for-profit health insurer. Dr. Paul Amajor, Healthfirst Director of Strategic Health Initiatives, led a presentation on managing stress, building healthy habits, and knowing when to seek support from a healthcare provider.

As Older Adults Month and Mental Health Awareness Month approach in May, Healthfirst is supporting older adults across New York City, Long Island, Westchester, and the Hudson Valley through community-based events that support healthy aging and mental well-being. Social isolation presents a higher risk for not only depression, but also physical health conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

Westchester County Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson’s remarks, Healthfirst Director of Strategic Health Initiatives Dr. Paul Amajor’s talk on healthy aging, and Thomas H. Slater Community Center Executive Director Heather Miller’s remarks were among the workshop’s highlights.

Attendees socializing at the Healthy Aging Workshop presented by Healthfirst, a leading not-for-profit health insurer, at the Thomas H. Slater Community Center in White Plains, New York on Monday, April 27. The workshop drew nearly 50 older adults and was one of Healthfirst’s community-based events across New York City, Long Island, Westchester and the Hudson Valley taking place in support of Older Adults Month and Mental Health Awareness Month.

As the workshop came to a close, one message rang clear: healthy aging is not something that happens in isolation—it is built through connection, access, and consistent community engagement. Events like this do more than provide information; they create spaces where older adults feel seen, heard, and supported. In a time when social isolation continues to pose serious risks, these gatherings serve as a powerful reminder that community-centered care can be just as vital as clinical care.

With Older Americans Month and Mental Health Awareness Month on the horizon, the momentum generated at the Slater Center underscores a broader call to action. Investing in programs that prioritize both physical and mental well-being is not just beneficial—it is necessary. As leaders like Legislator Jewel Williams Johnson, Healthfirst, and local community organizations continue to collaborate, they are not only improving health outcomes but also strengthening the fabric of Westchester County—ensuring that its older residents can age with dignity, purpose, and the support they deserve.

Is Mamdani Driving Capital Out of New York in the name of Justice

DAMON K JONES
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Is Mamdani Driving Capital Out of New York in the name of Justice

When Zohran Mamdani publicly singled out Ken Griffin and used Griffin’s penthouse as a symbol for taxing the rich, many treated it as populist theater. But this is bigger than a viral political stunt. It raises a serious question about whether New York is beginning to confuse hostility toward capital with economic justice. Those are not the same thing, and history shows they often produce opposite results.

The issue is not whether wealthy people should contribute. The issue is whether it makes sense to politically target people and institutions already contributing at extraordinary levels to the city’s economy. By Citadel’s own accounting, Griffin, his firms, and employees have paid nearly $2.3 billion in city and state taxes over the past five years. That is not symbolic money. That helps finance the government itself. Add to that Griffin’s reported $650 million in charitable support to schools, hospitals, and civic institutions in New York, and the caricature of someone not carrying his share begins to collapse.

More importantly, this is not just about one taxpayer. It is about what New York risks if this political climate pushes away investment. Citadel has signaled that its planned $6 billion 350 Park Avenue development could be reconsidered. That is not a small threat. That project is expected to generate 6,000 construction jobs, support 15,000 permanent jobs, and represent billions in economic activity tied to payrolls, vendors, contractors, property taxes, and long-term commercial growth. If a project of that scale pulls back, the loss is not theoretical. It is measurable.

And this is where the politics begins to work backward. A movement claiming to fight for working people is risking policies and rhetoric that could cost working people jobs. That is a contradiction too few are willing to confront. If New York loses billions in investment, thousands of jobs, and future tax revenue to posture against wealth, that is not progressive economics. That is economic self-sabotage.

Cities do not become stronger by driving away those who expand the tax base. They grow by attracting investment, rewarding enterprise, and making it rational for capital to stay. This is what too much redistribution politics ignores. Wealth is not merely something governments divide. It is something economies must continue producing.

This is why the Griffin episode matters beyond one billionaire’s penthouse. It signals a broader governing philosophy that treats productive capital less as a partner in growth and more as a political target. That may produce applause in the short run. But cities are not governed by applause. They are governed on outcomes.

Thomas Sowell has long argued that the question is never whether a policy sounds fair, but whether it works. That is the question here. What exactly is gained by threatening or alienating taxpayers and investors who are already helping finance the city? Does that produce more housing, stronger budgets, more jobs, or more opportunity? Or does it simply make New York less competitive while pretending moral victory?

And let us be honest about the stakes. If firms like Citadel conclude New York has become openly hostile to capital, there will be others watching. Investors watch signals. Markets watch signals. Employers watch signals. If one major player pulls back, others may rethink expansion too. That is how erosion begins, not always with collapse, but with cumulative decisions that slowly weaken a city’s economic base.

The irony is painful. In the name of helping ordinary people, this kind of politics can end up hurting ordinary people first. Because when capital leaves, the wealthy often relocate. Working people do not. They stay and absorb the consequences.

If New York loses billions in taxes, thousands of jobs and major development because leaders chose to demonize investment instead of attract it, that is not taxing the rich. That is taxing the city’s future.

That is not moving forward.

That is governing in reverse.

The Price of Breathing in Westchester

Larnez Kinsey
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The Price of Breathing in Westchester

Let’s begin with what cannot be ignored.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans are significantly more likely to be hospitalized for asthma and nearly three times more likely to die from it than white Americans.

The American Lung Association has consistently shown that communities of color are more likely to live in environments where air quality is poorer and asthma triggers are more concentrated.

And in New York, data from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) confirms that pollution exposure is not evenly distributed, it clusters in high-traffic, densely populated areas.

So before anything else, this is not random. This is patterned. It is predictable.

Now step inside a home.

It’s late, past midnight, in Westchester County. The house is quiet, but not settled.

There’s a steady hum filling a small bedroom. Not loud, but constant. A nebulizer sits on a nightstand, its plastic tubing looping gently toward a child who is half-awake, half-exhausted. A faint mist rises and disappears into the air.

Across the room, an air purifier runs without pause. Its low vibration becomes part of the atmosphere, something you stop hearing but never escapes you. The window is shut tight, even though the air feels warm and slightly heavy. Opening it would mean letting in whatever rides along the nearby roads, diesel fumes, dust, something sharp enough to trigger a cough within minutes.

On the edge of the bed, a parent leans forward, elbows on knees.

Listening.

Not casually, carefully.

They’ve learned the difference between normal breathing and the kind that signals trouble. They count seconds between breaths without realizing they’re counting. They notice every small shift, the slight tightening, the pause that lasts just a little too long.

Sleep comes in fragments, if at all.

This is what “manageable” asthma looks like in real life.

And it’s not an exception, it’s a pattern repeating itself across Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and New Rochelle.

In these communities, asthma is not a background condition. It is an active presence.

It shows up in the morning when a child hesitates before walking to school, checking their backpack for an inhaler the way others check for homework.

It shows up in classrooms, where sitting still is easier than risking a coughing episode that draws attention.

It shows up in after-school hours, where play is negotiated, how much running is safe today?

It shows up in the car rides to the hospital, quiet, focused, urgent.

And it shows up in ways that never make headlines, in the monthly bills.

Because everything that made that bedroom stable overnight, the nebulizer, the air purifier, the humidifier, requires power.

Continuous power.

These machines don’t rest, because the risk doesn’t rest.

And so the cost builds.

Electric bills climb higher than expected. Then higher again. And suddenly, what was already a tight budget becomes something else entirely, a constant balancing act.

At kitchen tables, late in the evening, decisions are made quietly:

What can be delayed?

What can be reduced?

What cannot be turned off?

Because turning something off might mean more than discomfort, it might mean danger.

This is the hidden cost of asthma.

And it does not fall equally.

It follows patterns shaped by housing conditions, environmental exposure, and access to care, patterns that have been in place for years and continue to affect the same communities.

Even in a county known for its resources, disparity remains visible to those living within it.

Because in Westchester, where you live still shapes how you breathe.

In November 2025, residents, health professionals, and community leaders gathered in Mount Vernon through the Westchester County African American Advisory Board to confront these realities directly.

What emerged from that conversation was not new, but it was undeniable:

Asthma is not only a medical condition.

It is connected to environment.

It is shaped by structure.

Since then, the work has expanded through the Advisory Board’s Asthma Committee.

In Greenburgh, Dr. Suzanne D. Phillips, a prominent longtime educator, has worked to connect residents with accessible health resources, helping bridge gaps that often leave families without consistent care.

In Yonkers, Larry Sykes has helped create forums where residents can speak openly about their experiences, describing patterns that data alone cannot fully capture.

In New Rochelle, Gwen Clayton Fernandes hosted a community forum at Alvin & Friends, bringing the conversation into a familiar, grounded space where people could reflect and share without formality.

These efforts have been strengthened by Assemblywoman Mary Jane Shimsky, whose support helped bring in the American Lung Association. Their involvement added broader public health perspective, but the lived experience remained the clearest guide.

At these gatherings, the details repeated themselves with striking consistency.

Children carrying inhalers throughout the day.

Homes where mold returns despite repeated cleaning.

Apartments where ventilation is limited, and air feels heavy in the summer months.

Schools positioned near major roadways, where traffic emissions linger.

These are not isolated incidents.

They are recurring conditions with measurable consequences.

And beneath all of it is the same truth:

Living with asthma carries a cost beyond health.

It is financial.

It is emotional.

It is constant.

Westchester County has begun to respond. The creation of an Asthma Subcommittee within the Advisory Board represents an important step. Community forums have expanded awareness. Partnerships have strengthened coordination.

These efforts are guided under the leadership of Barbara Edwards, whose direction has helped maintain focus on the issue.

But awareness does not reduce exposure.

It does not repair housing conditions.

It does not prevent an attack in the middle of the night.

And those nights are still happening.

Children are still waking up struggling to breathe.

Parents are still listening in the dark.

Families are still making urgent decisions about when to seek emergency care.

If Westchester is serious about equity, then the response must extend beyond conversation.

Housing conditions must be addressed at their source. Mold, pests, and inadequate ventilation are not minor concerns, they are direct health risks.

Outdoor air quality must be treated as a public health priority, especially near schools and residential areas impacted by traffic.

Access to preventive care must expand, so families are not relying on emergency rooms as a primary form of treatment.

And the financial burden must be recognized. No family should face economic strain for maintaining the equipment necessary to breathe safely.

Finally, the voices of residents must remain central. Their experiences provide essential insight into what is working and what is not.

Additional forums are planned in White Plains and Peekskill as this work continues.

Across each community, the message remains steady:

Asthma in Westchester is not just a health issue.

It is an environmental issue.

It is an equity issue.

It is a shared responsibility.

Because no county can claim prosperity while families are sitting awake in the early hours of the morning, listening to a child struggle for air and no family should have to wonder if they can afford to make it to morning.

Royster, Robinson, Henderson & Bobbitt Family Celebrate 100+ Years In Westchester

AJ Woodson
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Royster, Robinson, Henderson & Bobbitt Family Celebrate 100+ Years In Westchester

“The Great Migration” was a historic movement of Black Americans, primarily in response to rampant injustices, extreme poverty, and racial violence. From around 1910 to 1970, these communities left their southern homes to look for better lives in the Northeast and West. It was a journey that echoed American and African American history, but it didn’t stay in the past; it also reshaped the narrative of our future.” PBS – What Was the Great Migration?

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, members of the Royster, Robinson, Henderson, and Bobbitt families left Granville and Vance Counties in north-central North Carolina, and Sudan, Virginia (former community was essentially “wiped off the map” in the early 1950s to make way for the creation of a man-made lake—John H. Kerr Reservoir (also called Buggs Island Lake) that straddles the border of Virginia and North Carolina)—and migrated north in search of a better quality of life, better jobs, better living conditions, educational opportunities, and the freedom to be themselves.

They settled in Westchester County, New York, in the cities of New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, and later in the Bronx. At the time, New Rochelle was one of the county’s first communities for emancipated Black people, as early as the late 1800s. It was a bustling resort town and artistic community. Mount Vernon was an industrial village that saw rapid expansion, resulting in a popular “bedroom community” with a thriving commercial business. 

The Great Migration wasn’t just about leaving something behind—it was about moving toward something better, even if that “better” was uncertain. It was about agency. About choice. About rewriting what was possible in a country that had long denied Black people full participation in its promise.

On Friday, April 24, 2026, many of their living descendants gathered at Beechwood Cemetery in New Rochelle to honor the members of John E. Royster’s family who took up the torch to venture north: 

  • Irene Jordan “Joyner – His wife and my great-great-grandmother (pictured above)
  • Lindo C Bobbitt and Lucy Beatrice Royster 
  • John Royster 
  • Thomas A Haley and Pearl Royster 
  • Matthew Henderson and Louvina Royster (my great-grandparents)
  • Leroy James Henderson and Sarah Burwell (my maternal grandparents)
  • Thomas Robinson and Mildred “Millie” Royster 
  • Baker Royster and Della Griffin 
  • Robert Royster and Catherine Jeffreys 
  • Hubert Royster and Viola Lucille Jones 
  • Giles Royster and Cora Fields 
  • Walter Royster Sr and Mary Eaton 
  • James Edward Royster and Queen Esther Hicks Bobbitt  
Members of the Royster, Robinson, Henderson & Bobbitt Family Celebrating 150 Years In Westchester [Black Westchester]

Numerous family members are interred throughout Beechwood Cemetery, and present generations have gathered to honor and commemorate the tenacity, bravery, fortitude, and dedication of those who traveled to New York, as well as the numerous generations of Royster, Robinson, Henderson, and Bobbitt ancestors who have settled in New York. They took a moment on April 24 at 3:00 PM to honor their forefathers and foremothers who gave them both roots and wings, to think back, to celebrate, to reconnect, and to give thanks.

The Royster, Robinson, Henderson, and Bobbitt families continue to reside in the Bronx, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle. Every family still makes contributions to Westchester County’s religious, civic, educational, and artistic life, as well as the nearby regions of Connecticut and New Jersey. Additionally, the majority of the descendants now reside in different states, and some even abroad.

The theme of the day was Let’s Continue To Celebrate – “Like branches on a tree, we grow in different directions; yet our roots remain as one.” Mary Royster-Harris and Peter Robinson welcomed family members, and then Peter read the Royster/Robinson/Henderson/Bobbitts History. Followed by a prayer for their ancestors by Rev. James D. Robinson, Jr., music was played, and a balloon release took place. Afterwards, several members gave reflections, including me.

I reflected on the influence of my grandfather Leroy James Henderson, affectionally known by many as “Fats,” my grandmother Sarah Burwell, my mother Patricia L. Henderson, my uncle Leroy Henderson Jr, my sister Nicole Woodson, and my daughter Paula Sharelle Woodson, and how I attempt to carry on the legacy of my branch of the family.

My family has been here in Westchester since the early 1900s. I am third-generation Mount Vernon on my mother’s side, and my family goes back three generations in New Rochelle, before me on my father’s side.

Shout out to Mary and Michelle Harris for creating the opportunity for us to meet and honor our families!

The legacy of the Great Migration lives on in the cities that were transformed, in the culture that was created, and in the generations that followed. It lives in the idea that movement—physical, social, and spiritual—is often necessary for freedom. Because in many ways, the Great Migration wasn’t just about geography. It was about becoming.

My friend Joyce Cole, Ossining Village Historian, also preached the importance of documenting your family history. This is me taking her advice and sharing mine. It’s easy to think of family history as something optional—something you get to when you have time. But the truth is, documenting your family history is not just important… It’s essential. Because history isn’t just what’s written in books—it’s what lives in our families, our stories, our names, and our memories. And if we don’t take the time to preserve it, it can disappear in a single generation.

Every family carries a legacy. Some of it is known. Some of it is forgotten. And some of it was never written down in the first place. For many Black families, especially, history was disrupted through slavery, migration, displacement, and systemic barriers that kept records incomplete or inaccessible. That makes what we can recover and document even more valuable. Every story you capture is a piece of history reclaimed.

This is me, the beginning of reclaiming a piece of my family history.

Dare to Be Different Westchester Hosts the Largest Women’s History Month Gala

Larnez Kinsey
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Dare to Be Different Westchester Hosts the Largest Women’s History Month Gala

And This One Didn’t Just Shine… It Shifted Something

Greenburgh, NY — You ever walked into a room and immediately known this isn’t about to be surface-level? Like, nobody came here to just be seen; they came to see themselves more clearly?

Yeah. That was this.

The 12th Annual Women Who Dare to Be Different Celebration, hosted at the Theodore D. Young Community Center on Saturday, April 18, 2026, wasn’t just another gala with nice dresses and polite applause. This was alignment. This was an intention in real time. This was what happens when community stops talking about empowerment like it’s a buzzword and actually practices it like a discipline.

And let’s be clear, twelve years of anything requires vision, stamina, and a refusal to quit when it would’ve been easier to scale back. Founder Colby Jenkins didn’t build an event. She built infrastructure. The kind that holds women up, calls them forward, and then reminds them, you’re responsible for who comes next.

From the moment you entered, the energy wasn’t loud; it was grounded. Women greeting each other with that unspoken language of “I recognize your journey.” Men present, not performing support, but embodying it. Young people watching closely, taking mental notes like, oh… this is what leadership looks like in real life.

Minister Angela Davis Farrish didn’t just emcee; she anchored the night. Every transition felt intentional, every word placed with care, like she understood that this wasn’t just a program, it was a lived experience.

Then came the swearing-in ceremony.

Now listen… we throw the word “powerful” around a lot, but when Honorable Judge Sharon G. Matthie stepped forward, you felt the weight of that moment settle into the room. Each honoree stood, received their flowers, but more importantly, they received their assignment. The commemorative baton placed in their hands wasn’t decorative; it was directive.

It said: You’ve been called. Now go call someone else forward.

That’s how you break cycles. That’s how you build legacy without making it about ego.

And these honorees? Not aspirational in a distant way, applicable. Real women doing real work with real impact:

  • Joyce Sherock Cole — Keeper of Our Stories Leadership Award
  • Grindl K. Cooper — Woman of Impact and Service Leadership Award
  • Hon. Jewel Williams Johnson — The Architect of Impact Leadership Award
  • Penda Dyer (Youth Honoree) — New Generation Leadership Award (Scholarship Recipient)
  • Officer Micaela Henry — Champion for Youth & Community Policing Empowerment Leadership Award
  • Cynthia J. Hood — Trailblazer in Law Enforcement Leadership Award
  • Deacon Deborah I. Smith — Lifetime Commitment to Faith and Service Award
  • Hadassah Valera (Youth Honoree) — Young Leader of Excellence and Impact Award (Scholarship Recipient)

And here’s where the night quietly separated itself from the rest…

The youth weren’t treated like inspiration props. They were treated like investments. Scholarships totaling $1,000 were awarded, but more than that, they were affirmed in real time.

Not “you’ll be great someday.”

But “you are already becoming, right now.”

And then there’s Jayda Yizar, past Youth Honoree turned Youth Ambassador, who continues to show up every year with a special gift for the youth honorees. That’s not a gesture. That’s a full-circle moment. That’s what it looks like when someone doesn’t just benefit from a program, they become part of its heartbeat.

Same energy with Montika Jones, past honoree and owner of Cupcake Cutie Boutique. Because real support doesn’t end when the spotlight moves on. It shows up in continued presence, in contribution, in saying, I’m still here, and I’m still pouring in.

Now let’s talk about Mama V, Rev. Viviana DeCohen.

Her keynote didn’t feel like a speech; it felt like truth being handed to you without sugarcoating it. As Commissioner of the New York State Department of Veterans’ Services, she already walks in purpose. But in that room, she spoke from somewhere deeper. And when she was surprised with the Asha Castleberry Hernandez Award, it didn’t feel like a break in the program; it felt like alignment catching up to her.

Because when you honor a woman of service while naming the legacy of another powerful woman? That’s not coincidence. That’s intention meeting timing.

The entertainment didn’t distract; it extended the message.

Jackie Love’s Jay Love Fashion School of Etiquette reminded everybody that presence is taught and that excellence isn’t outdated, it’s just often neglected. With commentary from Lil Nat, it felt like culture and class met each other and said, “We can do both.”

And then Young Miss Shalena…

That wasn’t just a praise dance. That was release. That was somebody saying what words couldn’t hold. The kind of performance that makes you sit a little straighter, breathe a little deeper, and maybe check in with yourself, like, when was the last time I felt that connected to what I believe?

Even the details were intentional.

Vendors like Gina Vintage Boutique, Queens Eyewear, and the NY State Troopers weren’t just add-ons; they were integrated into the experience. Because community isn’t one lane, it’s many lanes moving in the same direction.

Young men serving as hosts moved through the room with quiet discipline, opening doors, assisting guests, learning in real time what it means to show up with respect. Because let’s be honest, uplifting women without educating young men? That’s an incomplete strategy. This wasn’t incomplete.

And yes, the officials were present: Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins, Congressman George Latimer, representatives from Congressman Michael Lawler’s office, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ office, and the Town of Greenburgh. But the moment that lingered?

Former County Legislator Alfreda Williams, sitting in that room, watching her daughter, honoree Jewel Williams Johnson, walk in her purpose.

That’s not just attendance.

That’s legacy looking at itself and saying, we did something right.

Guests enjoyed a beautiful cocktail hour and dinner, but the real nourishment was connection. Conversations that didn’t feel transactional. Laughter that didn’t feel forced. Energy that didn’t require effort to sustain.

And beneath all of that, purpose.

Because this night doesn’t end when the lights go down.

Funds raised are actively fueling:

  • Youth scholarships and development
  • Civic engagement and leadership programming
  • Financial literacy initiatives
  • The Love and Help Center in Sleepy Hollow
  • The return of the Greenburgh Farmers Market in Summer 2026

That’s not charity. That’s strategy.

Sponsors like Affinity Federal Credit Union, Sam’s Club, and Cupcake Cutie Boutique didn’t just support an event; they invested in an ecosystem.

And if you were in that room, you already know:

This is not where the story stops.

Dare to Be Different Westchester is already preparing for its next experience, Men Who Dare to Be Different, happening in June 2026.

And let’s be real for a second because growth requires honesty.

You cannot keep asking women to evolve, lead, heal, build, and carry… while men stay unchallenged, unchecked, or uninvolved. That math doesn’t work.

So this next fundraiser? It’s not just an extension, it’s a necessary shift.

An invitation for men to rise with intention.

To lead with awareness.

To participate in community, not just exist in it.

So don’t just “look out” for it.

Be present for it.

Because if this gala showed us anything, it’s that Dare to Be Different Westchester isn’t just creating moments.

They’re creating momentum.

And momentum, when it’s real, doesn’t ask for permission.

It changes things.

PBP Radio April 26, 2026 – Black Wealth Under Attack? Deed Theft, SPLC Scandal & Trump Assassination Attempt

AJ Woodson
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PBP Radio April 26, 2026 – Black Wealth Under Attack? Deed Theft, SPLC Scandal & Trump Assassination Attempt

Tonight on People Before Politics, we tackle the stories others avoid. In our first hour, we break down the growing crisis of deed theft and how it is stripping Black families of generational wealth, often in silence. We examine why this issue deserves far more public attention and policy action. We also discuss the political implications surrounding the assassination attempt against Donald Trump, major local news, and the controversy surrounding the federal indictment involving the Southern Poverty Law Center and allegations tied to payments involving the KKK. Then in our second hour, special guest Yoland Jones from LIVE Church joins us to discuss mental health in our community and an upcoming forum focused on healing, awareness, and resources. This is a conversation about politics, policy, truth, and community. Subscribe to Black Westchester and join the discussion. Topics Covered: Deed Theft and Black Wealth Trump Assassination Attempt Analysis, SPLC Federal Indictment Discussion, Local News and Politics, Mental Health in the Black Community, Upcoming Community Forum with LIVE Church

Join Damon K. Jones, AJ Woodson, and Larnez Kinsey tonight as we bring you not just news, but context, accountability, and community-centered analysis you can’t get anywhere else.

LIVE from 6 PM to 8 PM on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X, powered by Black Westchester Magazine.

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The Group That Labeled Louis Farrakhan a Racist Now Faces Indictment Over Klan-Linked Payments

DAMON K JONES
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The Group That Labeled Louis Farrakhan a Racist Now Faces Indictment Over Klan-Linked Payments

There is an old rule in politics and public life: never confuse moral posturing with moral authority. For decades, the Southern Poverty Law Center has been treated not merely as an advocacy group but as an institution with the power to shape reputations, influence policy, and define who is considered legitimate in public discourse. Its reports have informed media narratives, guided corporate decisions, influenced school systems, affected law enforcement training, and helped shape the ideological assumptions of the modern Democratic coalition. This influence matters because when an institution has that kind of power, the standard for judging it cannot be sentiment. It must be outcomes, such as how SPLC classifications-influenced policies impact communities and social cohesion, emphasizing results over reputation. Understanding this helps readers evaluate whether social justice efforts truly benefit marginalized groups or serve institutional agendas.

The outcome now confronting the SPLC is extraordinary. A federal grand jury has returned an 11-count indictment against the organization, charging six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Those are not symbolic charges. There are criminal allegations that donor money was solicited under one mission and used for another.

According to the indictment, prosecutors allege the SPLC paid at least $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to eight individuals tied to extremist organizations, including figures associated with the Ku Klux Klan, National Socialist groups, Aryan Nations affiliates, and others. Prosecutors further allege money moved through at least five fictitious entities, layered through sham accounts and prepaid instruments to obscure its source. The wire fraud allegations center on whether donors were told contributions would dismantle extremism while funds were allegedly diverted elsewhere. The bank fraud allegations focus on whether false entities were used to deceive financial institutions. The money laundering conspiracy allegation concerns whether layered transactions were designed to conceal the movement of funds. That is not a bookkeeping dispute. That is an allegation of systemic deception.

One source allegedly connected to leadership surrounding the Unite the Right rally reportedly received approximately $270,000 over eight years. Again, these are allegations, and guilt belongs to courts, not headlines. But indictment alone raises a question too important to ignore: how might this affect public trust in organizations like the SPLC that shape narratives about extremism? What does this mean for the credibility of institutions that influence political discourse and policy?

It becomes even more serious when one remembers the role this organization has played in shaping political thought, particularly on the left. The SPLC did not simply monitor hate groups. It helped shape the moral vocabulary through which much of modern Democratic politics discusses race, extremism, dissent, and public legitimacy. Its classifications have been cited in debates over domestic terrorism, policing, education, and political extremism. Its framing has often flowed into progressive policymaking. That is political influence. Substantial political influence.

Which is why this indictment matters beyond the courtroom. When institutions that help shape policy face allegations of fraud tied to the very forces they claim to oppose, the issue is no longer simply criminal exposure. It is whether policy itself has too often been informed by institutions shielded from scrutiny. That is where logic has to replace emotion.

For years, the SPLC labeled Minister Louis Farrakhan a racist and extremist, and that label carried consequences. It influenced how the media treated him, how institutions treated him, and how Black nationalist thought itself was framed in the broader public imagination. But there is another question rarely asked when those labels were applied: what were the actual outcomes produced by Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam? Serious analysis should judge institutions by results, not caricatures. The audience should feel respect for the social contributions that may be overlooked when only labels are considered. Focusing on outcomes allows for a more nuanced understanding of the organization’s real impact on communities and social stability, fostering a more critical evaluation beyond superficial labels.

Whatever criticisms have been made of Farrakhan, one fact is difficult to dismiss. He has been a pillar in large segments of Black America. For decades, the Nation of Islam has preached discipline, sobriety, personal responsibility, economic self-help, family structure, moral order, and reverence for God. Those are not the teachings of social chaos. Those are the teachings of social repair.

Its influence has helped turn many Black men who might have been lost to crime, addiction, idleness, or street culture into law-abiding citizens, husbands, fathers, business owners, and contributors to their communities. Many who came through those teachings did not become radicals. They became responsible. They opened businesses, mentored youth, took on family responsibilities, built institutions, and practiced self-restraint. In neighborhoods too often abandoned by political systems and failing social policy, that mattered, and it still matters.

Critics have often been eager to attach labels, but far less eager to measure outcomes. Measured by outcomes, one can argue the Nation of Islam has done more to rehabilitate broken lives, restore discipline, and promote economic self-determination in Black communities than many organizations that enjoyed far greater political legitimacy. This raises a critical question: if results judge social justice efforts, how should we evaluate organizations like the Nation of Islam versus those with more mainstream approval? Are we overlooking effective community impacts because of labels and reputation?

Another fact deserves to be said plainly. Neither Farrakhan nor the Nation of Islam has been known as an organization committing criminal acts against other ethnic groups. That distinction matters. Being controversial is not the same as being criminal, and moral disapproval is not evidence of social harm. In fact, many of the values often treated suspiciously by critics, faith, discipline, entrepreneurship, self-sufficiency, and strong families, are precisely the values Black communities have often needed more of, not less. The audience should feel a sense of fairness and the importance of objective evaluation beyond superficial labels.

Which makes the labeling even more revealing. An institution now under indictment helped stigmatize a movement whose social outcomes, whatever one thinks of its rhetoric, often included order, responsibility, business ownership, and uplift. That deserves reflection. Because if outcomes matter more than accusations, then the question is not simply why Farrakhan was labeled. The question is whether those labels obscured contributions too significant to ignore.

And that is where the irony hardens. The same institution that warned America about alleged hate now faces indictment over alleged payments involving Klan-linked actors. That is not merely a contradiction. That is a historical reversal.

Thomas Sowell has often argued that the test of ideas is not intentions but results. That principle applies here. What were the results of allowing one organization to function as both political influencer and moral referee? Did it improve public understanding? Or did it help create a climate where dissenting Black voices could be stigmatized while the institutions doing the stigmatizing escaped examination?

Those are outcome questions, and they matter.

Because this is bigger than one indictment, it goes to a deeper problem in American politics. Too many institutions claim virtue as a substitute for accountability. Too many organizations assume that, because they speak the language of justice, they are exempt from scrutiny. Too many people mistake moral branding for moral credibility.

This case challenges all of that.

If the allegations fail, the SPLC may survive bruised. If they hold, one of the most influential ideological institutions in American public life may have been exposed as something very different from what it claimed to be.

And if that happens, the consequences will not stop with the SPLC. Questions will follow about media, academia, policy networks, and the broader political ecosystem that treated certain institutions as beyond criticism. Those questions are overdue.

Because the issue here is not merely whether money moved improperly, it is whether an institution that helped shape public morality can survive scrutiny under the standards it applied to others.

That is the real story.

Not irony, but accountability.

Not symbolism, but outcomes.

And perhaps the greatest lesson is an old one. Those who claim authority to judge others should be prepared to have their own conduct judged by the same standard.

Westchester County Youth Bureau Joins My Brother’s Keeper Alliance For 2026 Youth Leadership Symposium

AJ Woodson
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Westchester County Youth Bureau Joins My Brother’s Keeper Alliance For 2026 Youth Leadership Symposium

Legacy in Action: Empowering Youth, Building Futures

(White Plains, NY) – Westchester County Youth Bureau, in collaboration with the Lower Hudson Valley My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and the New York State My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, organized a Youth Leadership Symposium on Tuesday, April 21st, aimed at empowering young men of color and helping them overcome hurdles. Over 350 students, superintendents, and elected officials from Westchester County and Hudson Valley school districts came to the County Center in White Plains for the first in-person MBK symposium since 2019.

The symposium, part of the national My Brother’s Keeper initiative launched under former President Barack Obama, is designed to uplift young men of color while creating pathways to success through education, career exposure, and community engagement. Westchester’s collaboration with MBK reflects a growing local investment in youth-centered programming aimed at closing opportunity gaps and building stronger futures.

The event kicked off with inspirational messages from educational and community leaders and featured a keynote address by speaker, motivator, and author Brad Butler, II, entitled “From IEPs to Degrees.” Attendees then attended expert- and student-led panel discussions on a wide range of relevant topics, including the value of education in achieving lifelong success, teen dating and emotional resilience, and the impacts of social media and violence on youth culture.

During the Superintendents Fireside Chat segment, school district leaders from across the Hudson Valley didn’t just answer questions; they were challenged to name commitments, close gaps, and show up differently for the students who need them most. The conversations moved beyond acknowledgment and into action, with a challenge to make specific, measurable outcomes for the students and community partners who were present.

County officials say the initiative will bring together students, educators, community leaders, and mentors for a day of workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. Topics are expected to include career readiness, mental health awareness, civic engagement, and leadership skills, all tailored to meet the evolving needs of today’s youth.

“The MBK Youth Leadership Symposium and events like it are invaluable to creating the confidence and skills needed for our young men of color to have a seat at the table. In a world that often defines people by what they lack, we can be inspired by the narratives shared today about how adversity can be the catalyst to success. I want them to understand that excellence is a habit to be practiced every day, and that they have the power to shape their own reality and make this community a better place,” said Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins.

The Youth Bureau’s involvement underscores its broader mission to advocate for, coordinate, and strengthen services for young people and families throughout the county. By aligning with the MBK Alliance, Westchester is reinforcing its role in a national movement dedicated to ensuring that all young people—especially those from underserved communities—have the tools and opportunities to succeed.

“At the Youth Bureau, our mission is to ensure every young person has access to the guidance, resources, and opportunities they need to thrive. Seeing hundreds of students come together with educators and community leaders reminds us that empowerment happens when young people are surrounded by support, inspiration, and opportunity,” said Westchester County Youth Bureau Executive Director Ernest McFadden.

“I was granted the opportunity to present in one of the breakout sessions on something I truly see myself doing in the future. The MBK event gave me the opportunity to build on what already exists within me.  I wish we could be poured into like this more often. The statement that stuck with me is that ‘gems can be given freely, but their value depends on the hands that use them,’” said MBK New Rochelle student Quincy Fosu.

“The 2026 MBK Symposium was proof that when educators, policymakers, and young people occupy the same space with intention, something transformative happens. Those conversations don’t stay in the room; they travel home, into classrooms, into policy, and into the lives of young men across the Hudson Valley,” said Right NOW Leaders Host André G. Early.

More than a dozen students from Southern Westchester BOCES’ Rye Lake Campus joined hundreds of their peers for a day of inspiration, learning, and connection at the My Brother’s Keeper 2026 Youth Leadership Symposium.

“This was an eye-opening experience for our students,” said advisor and Rye Lake Campus Team Leader Curtis Anderson, who accompanied the SWBOCES delegation along with math teacher Monroe Anderson. “They saw firsthand that there is a system of support and brotherhood they can rely upon and be a part of themselves.”

Dr. Alexandria Connally, Assistant Director of Special Services at SWBOCES and Chair of the Westchester County Youth Board, said that having an MBK chapter at Southern Westchester BOCES is a natural extension of the organization’s shared mission. 

“This was a powerful day, one that I am sure made an impact and will benefit our students well into their future,” Dr. Connally said.

For the thirty-two students from White Plains High School and Rochambeau Alternative High School, the experience resonated well beyond the sessions.

“We are so proud of the way our students showed up, and I truly believe it meant a great deal to them to have Superintendent Dr. Joseph Ricca there with them — and to have been chosen to participate in this event in the first place,” said House Administrator Monique Adams. “They left the summit feeling empowered, seen, and inspired, and their excitement and growth were evident.”

At a time when young people are navigating unprecedented challenges, initiatives like the 2026 Youth Leadership Symposium are more than timely—they are necessary. By joining forces with the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, the Westchester County Youth Bureau is not just hosting an event—it’s investing in a generation, empowering voices, and helping shape the leaders of tomorrow.

A Crime That Destroys Black Wealth While New York Looks Away

DAMON K JONES
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A Crime That Destroys Black Wealth While New York Looks Away

A Crime That Destroys Black Wealth While New York Looks Away

There is a category of crime in New York that does not rely on force, yet produces consequences just as permanent.

It is called deed theft.

It operates through paperwork. A signature is forged, a deed is recorded, ownership changes, and often the rightful owner learns what happened only after the property has been sold, mortgaged, or placed into foreclosure proceedings.

The system does not stop the transfer.

It records it.

That distinction explains much of what follows.

According to New York City reporting, more than 3,500 deed theft complaints were reported between 2014 and 2023. Earlier reporting from the New York State Attorney General’s Office documented thousands more complaints over a shorter period, many concentrated in Brooklyn.

These are not isolated incidents.

They describe a pattern.

When a crime repeats at scale, attention should shift beyond the criminal to the system that enables repetition.

New York has responded.

State lawmakers have strengthened deed theft statutes. Prosecutorial tools have expanded. The Attorney General’s office has pursued cases and supported reforms.

On paper, that appears to be progress.

But punishment after a fraudulent transfer does not prevent the transfer.

That is the limitation.

Criminal penalties matter. They may punish offenders.

They do not stop a system that still permits ownership to change hands before identity is meaningfully verified.

The larger problem is systemic failure that allows ownership to change hands before identity is meaningfully verified, which should concern policymakers and advocates alike.

The structure remains largely reactive.

Damage occurs.

Then the system responds.

A system designed this way will produce predictable outcomes.

Fraud will persist.

Recovery will favor those with resources.

Losses will concentrate among those least equipped to reverse them.

That pattern is especially visible in Black communities, where deed theft exacerbates existing racial wealth disparities and undermines economic stability.

State and city officials have acknowledged that Black homeowners, elderly residents, and communities with inherited property are among those most vulnerable to deed fraud.

That should not be surprising.

For many Black families, homeownership represents the largest share of accumulated wealth.

In many cases, it is the wealth.

When that asset is taken, the consequences extend beyond one property, affecting communities and families, which should resonate with the public and housing justice advocates.

Equity is lost.

Inheritance is interrupted.

Stability is weakened.

The issue is not simply housing fraud.

It is wealth destruction.

And when that destruction is concentrated in communities already constrained in capital formation, the effect compounds.

This is how disparities are preserved.

Not always through dramatic policy declarations.

Often, through tolerated structural failures.

Some examples make this tangible.

Elderly Brooklyn homeowners have seen properties transferred out of their names without their knowledge, only discovering the fraud after eviction proceedings began. In one widely reported case, a homeowner lost a property held for decades after fraudulent filings enabled others to borrow against the home.

Years of ownership were undone through paperwork.

That should raise obvious questions about oversight.

The role of the state should be judged through outcomes, not statements.

Under Letitia James, initiatives have been launched, complaint systems created, and cases prosecuted.

Recognition exists.

But recognition is not resolution.

A complaint process addresses suspected fraud after suspicion exists.

Prosecution begins after harm has occurred.

Neither changes the structural vulnerability that allows the fraud.

That is the issue.

There remains no universal requirement that deed transfers be tied to robust owner verification before recording, which allows fraud to occur unchecked and highlights a critical systemic failure.

The mechanism remains.

And as long as the mechanism remains, enforcement becomes cyclical.

Fraud.

Response.

Fraud again.

Response again.

That is not deterrence.

That is maintenance.

Recent events in Brooklyn have made this issue harder to dismiss as an abstract legal problem.

It has become a political conflict.

The arrest of Council Member Chi Ossé during an anti-eviction protest in Bedford-Stuyvesant brought national attention to a dispute involving contested ownership, displacement, and allegations tied to deed theft. Whether that case is ultimately judged as fraud, an inheritance conflict, or something more complicated is almost secondary to what it revealed.

A sitting elected official physically intervened in an eviction.

That is not ordinary.

That signals a deeper erosion of trust.

When public officials begin treating eviction enforcement itself as suspect, the issue is no longer simply criminal fraud.

It has become institutional legitimacy.

That matters.

Because outcomes matter.

If the public believes ownership can be lost before disputes are resolved, the system produces insecurity, regardless of its stated intentions.

That is a policy failure.

The significance of the Brooklyn confrontation is not the spectacle of an arrest.

It is what the arrest implies.

If elected officials are calling for moratoriums in disputed deed theft cases before evictions proceed, then even some within government recognize that the burden has been placed in the wrong order.

People can lose possession first and argue justice later.

That reverses the proper sequence.

A functioning system should first prevent wrongful dispossession.

Not to litigate after.

There are solutions.

They are not theoretical.

New York already has partial models.

The city’s ACRIS Property Alert System acknowledges the risk by notifying owners when filings occur.

But notification after filing is not prevention.

Other jurisdictions have moved further, using stronger identity verification and pre-recording safeguards.

The principle is simple.

If ownership transfer carries substantial consequences, the burden of verification should be substantial as well.

A mandatory owner confirmation system before recording, paired with a short hold period for contested transfers, would shift the system from reactive responses to proactive prevention, reducing fraud opportunities.

It is basic prudence.

A mandatory owner confirmation system before recording, paired with a short hold period for contested transfers, would alter the incentives that make fraud attractive.

Fraud depends on speed, opacity, and low resistance.

Change those conditions, and you change the risk calculation.

That is how deterrence works.

Right now, the system favors transaction speed over security of ownership.

That choice has consequences.

For those who believe they may be victims, time matters. Reports should be made immediately to the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and county clerks and district attorneys should be notified. Property alert systems should be activated where available

Delay benefits fraud.

New York cannot claim to defend homeownership while maintaining a structure that leaves ownership exposed.

It cannot claim concern over racial wealth disparities while tolerating a mechanism that strips wealth from Black communities through preventable means.

The results are already visible.

Homes lost.

Wealth erased.

Communities altered.

The question is not whether the state is aware.

The question is whether this is a failure of awareness or a failure of correction.

And if elected officials are now being arrested while trying to stop disputed evictions, the question may be larger still.

Is the system correcting injustice?

Or enforcing it.

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