Wednesday, June 18th, 2025, was not just another date on the calendar. It was a reckoning. It was Westchester’s call to consciousness. And it happened in one of the most symbolically loaded buildings in the county, Philipse Manor Hall, the oldest building in Yonkers, located at 29 Warburton Ave. A site once held up by slavery, now transformed into a stage for policy, power, and liberated truth.
At 8:30 AM, while the city was still stretching its limbs, the Westchester Women’s Agenda (WWA) was already in motion, hosting their 4th Annual Juneteenth Legislative Event, themed “The Movement in Movement.” And baby, the theme was not metaphor. It was a mandate.
Because listen… this wasn’t your auntie’s brunch panel. This was radical remembrance meets legislative strategy. This was a political revival in the house that bondage built.
The event featured a panel discussion with Q&A, followed by a Town Hall conversation regarding the history of enslavement and the road to repair. Panelists consisted of Dr. Jennifer Lewis – Westchester Center for Racial Equity Director, Kym McNair – Senior Director of Social Transformation, My Sisters’ Place, and PISAB Educator, Greenburgh Town Clerk Lisa Maria Nero, and Moderator Yakira Young – Content Strategist, YK Digital LLC.
We Don’t Just Gather, We Shift Timelines
The morning kicked off with registration, food, and fam reconnecting, but don’t get it twisted. From the first handshake to the final word, this was a ritual. A reclamation. A resetting of the civic table.
Michael Lord, Museum Director, and Kate Permut, WWA Board Chair, reminded us: we’re not just guests here, we’re healing on haunted land. And we came to make policy out of pain.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins followed up with opening remarks that didn’t just acknowledge Juneteenth as a holiday, they honored it as a promise we still haven’t fully delivered. And his words rang louder than the walls ever did.
And then came the anchor: Tasha Young, our Mistress of Ceremonies and Juneteenth Curator. Her presence? Ancestral. Incendiary. Instructive. She didn’t just guide the room, she summoned it into alignment. We weren’t here for comfort. We were here for clarity.
The Panel Wasn’t Just Powerful, It Was a Pulse Check on Freedom
Moderated by the laser-sharp Yakira Young, the panel didn’t come to play; they came to provoke, empower, and realign. These weren’t just titles on a flyer. These were women who lived the work every day.
- Dr. Jennifer Lewis set the tone with a deep dive into the truth most folks try to tiptoe around: you cannot separate liberation from mental health. Period. She pulled back the curtain on how the trauma of systemic racism is not just historical, it’s neurological. She told the truth about how healing in our communities won’t happen through quick fixes or performative panels; it happens when we get real about the emotional labor Black women carry, and when we center wellness as policy, not just practice. Her presence was both clinical and spiritual, like the therapist and freedom coach you didn’t know you needed in the same body.
- Kym McNair? Whewwww. Sis didn’t just speak; she plugged us into a timeline I didn’t even know I needed to observe until she laid it out plain. She connected dots across generations from our grandmothers who couldn’t speak their truths to us, to our daughters watching how we hold ours. She made it clear: reproductive justice isn’t just about policy, it’s about legacy, lineage, and liberation. In that moment, she didn’t just give us history, she gave us ancestral orientation. And now? I’ll never unsee it. Kym wasn’t just talking policy, she was talking possession. Reclaiming the right to our bodies, our time, our voices. All of it.
- Hon. Lisa Nero, Westchester through and through, brought the courtroom to the community. She reminded us that while the language of the law might be coded, our power to interpret and influence it is real. She broke down what justice actually looks like when we’re in the room and at the table, not just subjects of policy, but architects of it. And she made it plain: reform doesn’t happen in the abstract; it happens when we hold the system accountable, line by line, case by case. Lisa held that mic like a gavel, and every word carried weight. She didn’t just advocate. She armed us with a strategy.
This wasn’t your average panel discussion. This was a spiritual subpoena. A collective download. A policy remix with liberation on the beat. They didn’t just speak. They activated. And if you were in the room, you left differently.
Town Hall: This Is What Democracy Should Look Like
Led by Lesley Mazzotta and Tasha Young, the Town Hall cracked the floor open. It wasn’t a Q & A. It was testimony, strategy, and calling things by their real names.
And in a county like Westchester, where redlining, racial wealth gaps, school inequity, and silent segregation still exist, you better believe these truths needed airtime.
Because we can’t liberate what we’re still too polite to name.
Westchester Is Not Neutral Ground. It’s a Sacred Battleground.
Let me say this plainly: Westchester has receipts.
This country raised revolutionaries and raised rent. It gave us civil rights history and quiet suppression. It’s got towns with million-dollar median incomes and neighborhoods still fighting for basic resources.
That’s why this event mattered. Because culture state space means confronting that duality on purpose with vision, with action, with legislation that uplifts Black women and every woman whose power has been overlooked, undervalued, or underfunded.
And doing it at Philipse Manor Hall? Whew. That was ancestral alignment. We stood in the same place where our people were once enslaved and declared, not anymore.
Call to Action: If You Felt This, Move Differently
This isn’t a vibe. It’s a responsibility.
- Don’t just “like” the recap. Get in the room next time.
- Don’t wait on change, BE the bill, BE the budget, BE the ballot.
- Don’t let Juneteenth end in June. Let it live in how you vote, how you advocate, and how you love your people forward.
Because in Westchester? We’re not just remembering history.
We’re rewriting it.
With our full chest. With policy. With purpose.
And with each other.
A magnificent read. It actually felt like I attended. The phase that it was a ‘spiritual subpoena’ set a fire for me. Though not a Westchester resident as a fellow advocate and activist I stand with you and look forward to participating and future empowering articles.
Peace
She’s great isn’t she
Grateful ☺️
This was the first Juneteenth event of WWA that I had to leave early. The magnificent ability of Larnez Kinsey to bring me back into the room filled me with gratitude. I took two of my granddaughters to Phillipse Manor Hall the very next morning to learn and inquire. I hope your readers appreciate her talent … and will check out the July monthly meeting of WWA. I’m happy to share that those details can be found at wwagenda.org
We absolutely appreciate her
Wow! Thank you so much for these powerful words. I’m honored the piece resonated with you in such a deep way. That “spiritual subpoena” was truly felt in the room and I’m grateful it echoed through the page and found you.
Your support, even from outside Westchester, means everything. Advocacy knows no zip code it’s a heart-centered calling. I look forward to building with you and continuing to uplift voices through future articles.
Superbly written and engaging piece of journalism. I wish I had attended the program.
Thank you deeply. Your words mean a lot. The spirit in that room was real and i’m honored it reached you through the page.
Hope we can share space at the next one. 🖤✨
I’m sorry I missed this moment. Your article places me in the room.
Thank you so much, Sheryl.
That means the world to me. I’m sorry you couldn’t be there too, but I’m so glad the article helped place you in the heart of the moment. The energy in that room was powerful and knowing it reached you through the page affirms exactly why we tell these stories.
Hope to be side by side with you at the next one.
A Heartfelt Thank You to Larnez Kinsey and the WWA Juneteenth Committee
Thank you, Larnez Kinsey, for beautifully covering the Westchester Women’s Agenda (WWA) 4th Annual Juneteenth Legislative Event.
Congratulations and a big thank you to the WWA Juneteenth Committee for organizing such a powerful and impactful event!
We invite everyone to learn more about the Westchester Women’s Agenda and connect with the dynamic women who drive our mission forward. Join us at our monthly meetings, held on the first Friday of every month.
Thank you so much, Maritza.
Your words truly mean a lot. As a proud WWA member, it was an honor to reflect the heart and spirit of our Juneteenth gathering. The energy, the truth, the legacy-building, it was all there, and I’m so grateful to be on this journey with dynamic women like you.
Deep gratitude to the entire Juneteenth Committee for curating such a powerful space. I’m excited for what’s ahead and committed to continuing to lift our collective voice. First Fridays and forever, let’s keep rising together.
What a phenomenally written and powerful article! It made me feel as though I was in that same space. Thank you for bringing such life to this event, especially for those that were unable to attend. Thank you also to WWA for all that you do.