South Bronx — The Bronx is Berning. On Thursday night, the democratic socialist drew 18,500 raucous supporters to St. Mary’s Park in the South Bronx. Although the senator’s campaign has often been portrayed as the whitest thing since sliced Wonder Bread, the crowd in Mott Haven was a rainbow coalition: Among the Caucasian Sandersistas were significant numbers of African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and even a smattering of Hasidic Jews. BernieBros and BernieBroads were out in roughly equal numbers. The only demographic that went underrepresented was “people who were alive when Ronald Reagan was in office.”
Celebrated filmmaker and iconic Brooklynite Spike Lee acknowledged this absence in his opening remarks.
“We have to talk to our parents, because the older generation — they on this Clinton thing,” Lee said.
While Hillary is calling New York City her home, there are few portions of the five boroughs you would exactly find her and the South Bronx, the South, South Bronx would be among the top of the list.
When Hillary Clinton kicked off her New York campaign at the World Famous Apollo Theater on Wednesday, she attacked Sanders on several fronts, but never said his name. There was no such subtlety in the South Bronx. Rosario Dawson, prominent actress and Bernie surrogate, opened her speech at St. Mary’s by decrying the Clinton campaign’s “dishonest attacks” on Sanders’s pro-choice bona fides.
“Shame on you, Hillary,” Dawson said, to wild applause. “Oh, sorry, hold on. Let me ‘watch my tone.’”
Momentum is shifting in Senator Sanders favor. The type of momentum needed for Sanders to take New York State and give Clinton cause for concern. After the huge turnout in the South Bronx, the Berning is beginning to cross the border into neighboring Westchester County.
Sanders Supporters are hoping to continue the momentum in Westchester, with another organizing event in Mount Vernon, Monday night.
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.
