Last night (3/1/11), with the support of members of the community, I closed down the Peekskill City Council Meeting. That would make the fourth council meeting that was closed down because of my "non-cooperation" with the systematic oppression of Black people in my hometown of Peekskill N.Y. It is not something I am particularly proud of. It is just a fact of life that if Black people's rights are going to be attacked by city government, I will do my best to interrupt that.
The issues in Peekskill are centered around gentrification. Despite eight months of community protests, the Peekskill Democratic Party has decided to support Peekskill Housing Director, Harold Phipps, who was fired from Asbury Park New Jersey Housing Authority for a long list of abuses. Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster, after it was revealed Phipps was fired in New Jersey, sued for sexual harassment and called incompetent by HUD, said she supports him anyway. Phipps has Black skin.
There is more. Since being in Peekskill, several women have complained that Phipps uses his pass key and enters their apartments and makes lewd comments. These charges have been repeated at council meetings and to the housing board, of which the mayor appoints five of the seven members.
Phipps has also retaliated against every single person who has come out against him. While I don't live in Public Housing, my organization, The Committee for Justice, has led the fight to have Phipps removed. Because of that, I have been "banned" from all housing board meetings, under the threat of arrest, for yelling back at Phipps after he told me in a board meeting to "shut-up!"
Since the mayor manipulated the Housing Board by kicking off one board member who refused to vote Phipps a new contract, and appointing another man, who voted for Phipps, we are holding the Peekskill mayor and council responsible.
Rather then address the issues the community is raising, the mayor and council have bought police into the council meetings and have removed the citizens public comments section at the beginning of the council meetings. We are not cooperating with that. In the past, I was arrested twice for breaking these rules at council meetings (not by this administration).
So I have several times refused to sit and be quiet and the mayor has cancelled council meetings and walked out. The same thing happened at the Housing Board meeting Mr. Phipps told me to shut up at. The meeting was closed down.
We will continue to organize, protest and expose racism until Phipps is gone; we will shut down council meetings when necessary, rather than comply with attacks on our free speech and we will continue to expose the Peekskill Democrats' attempt to gentrify Public Housing.