If the Rev. Al Sharpton’s call for a political summit goes as planned, a host of the state’s elected officials will convene sometime next month to discuss how to rectify the recent midterm setbacks. His call for unity, a “collectivity,” has a similar resonance to comments made by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries just before he was elected the first Black man to lead a party in Congress.
“I believe that Speaker Carl Heastie, Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and [Gov.] Hochul have the ability, the skill and the wherewithal to strike the right balance moving forward in the next legislative session. It’s not my job to weigh in aggressively with respect to the specific legislative path that they should take, but I do believe that they will aggressively address the issue of public safety in the next legislative session,” he told the Gothamist.
It’s a bit too early to say who will be at the summit, and certainly the issue of bail reform and why the Democrats lost three seats in the House will be on the agenda. Crime will ineluctably be a topic of concern and as Sharpton noted, “They haven’t been in the room together to talk about crime. Why are we not talking collectively?”
Asked what factors were decisive in the midterm election results, Jeffries was unwilling to place the blame on the issue of bail reform laws, particularly on the loss of congressional seats in the Hudson Valley and Long Island.
“I think the [state] Legislature needs to take a look at the criminal justice system comprehensively in the next session and figure out what is the best way to balance public safety with fairness and criminal justice reform. We’ve been able to do it successfully in Washington, D.C. and bring together Democrats and Republicans on this,” he said.
He and Sharpton seem to strike a similar chord, and that comes as no surprise given their long association and often working in tandem on community problems. That accord echoed Sharpton’s statement on Jeffries’ election. “Another barrier to equal representation has come down. Next year, Democrats will enter the House Chamber led by a Black representative for the first time. This has been a long overdue moment in America—more than 150 years after Joseph Rainey became the first Black American to serve in the House. I think today of one of my mentors, Brooklyn’s own Shirley Chisholm, who over 50 years ago became the first Black woman elected to the House. She fought to make sure Black voices didn’t only have a seat at the table, but that America listened when they spoke.
“They and those who came in between laid the groundwork, so that today we can call Hakeem Jeffries the House Minority Leader,” Sharpton continued. “He grew up in the National Action Network, standing with us over the last 25 years to fight for justice. The NAN DC Bureau has worked with him and other members to push for policies that advances justice. All that time, Rep. Jeffries has been our ally in government who appreciates that legislation is the true pathway to change. Even with a GOP-led house, we are confident he will not give up on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act or the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. In turn, we will not give up [until] there is more diversity and inclusion in House leadership.”
Will Jeffries be at the summit? Who knows?