NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The New York Times has cited Talk of the Sound in its article Thursday, Battered by Scandal, Cuomo Leans on Black Leaders to Build His Defense
The Times article details how Gov. Andrew Cuomo has “actively sought the support of Black leaders and elected officials to serve as a buffer against calls for his resignation or impeachment.”
The article lists 11 prominent Black leaders who are defending Cuomo: N.A.A.C.P., Hazel N. Dukes, Charles Rangel, Rev. Al Cockfield, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Gregory Meeks, Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, Assemblywoman Inez E. Dickens, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, Brooklyn Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, Former Cuomo running mate Charlie King and Rev. Al Sharpton.
George Latimer is the only white elected official on the Times’ list of Cuomo defenders and one of three cited for making “problematic comparisons” to defend Cuomo.
Race has already been thrust into the debate over Mr. Cuomo’s fate, with some of his defenders drawing on problematic comparisons between the allegations against the governor and the wrongful persecution of African-Americans.
In a Facebook post, George Latimer, the Westchester County executive, compared those calling on Mr. Cuomo to resign to the mob that lynched Emmett Till, the 14-year-old Black boy who was wrongfully accused of offending a white woman in Mississippi more than 60 years ago. (Mr. Latimer, who is white, has since edited the post, noting that the comparison was “offensive to some.”)
Latimer and Inez Dickens both made the Emmett Till comparison. Rodneyse Bichotte compared Cuomo to the Central Park Five.
Emmett Louis Till was a 14-year-old African American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of “offending” a white woman in her family’s grocery store.
The Central Park Five are black and Latino youths falsely convicted of assaulting and raping a white woman in Manhattan’s Central Park on April 19, 1989, later exonerated after a prison inmate confessed to the crime in 2002.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We believe it is worth noting that in the two weeks since Latimer’s “Cuomo as Emmett Till” Facebook post no other media outlets in Westchester County, in particular the Journal News and News12, reported on the original statement or the retraction Latimer made after we exposed his statement. This is a consistent pattern from a “captive local media” that sees its role to serve the County Executive nots its readers or viewers.
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Westchester CE Latimer Compares Calls for Andrew Cuomo Resignation to Mob that Lynched Emmett Till
Nothing bone headed or tone deaf about Elliot Engel, a community organizer before there was such a job description, an activist and reformer going back to the historic Co Op City rent strike. Simply a victim of political rivals who want office and power for themselves. People who don’t support their friends will end up with no friends
It shows a tone deafness by some elected leaders that don’t get it. This is exactly the type of boneheaded comments that resulted in upsets like Engle being unseated by Bowman in the primary.