It was sad to see Cuomo hold a vaccine event at a Harlem church where preachers, politicians, and other “leaders” out did one another in expressing support and ignoring what may be criminality. New York NAACP president Hazel Dukes referred to Cuomo as her son and added for emphasis, “He ain’t white.” Former congressman Charles Rangel saw fit to be only slightly less embarrassing when he compared Cuomo to the plight of someone who was facing unfair treatment. “You go to your family, you go to your friends because you know they will be with you.”
Rangel and Dukes were not even among the worst of the Cuomo defenders. A leaked recording of an Assembly meeting revealed that one black lawmaker compared Cuomo to the exonerated Central Park Five, who spent years in jail for a crime they didn’t commit. Another compared him to Emmett Till as they falsely claimed that impeachment would deprive him of due process.
There are black political leaders who have called on Cuomo to resign, but there is no other community in the state that is represented by people so willing to debase themselves for so little. Cuomo can never again expect to have rich New Yorkers and corporate interests bankroll campaign war chests that have made him the top fundraiser among all governors in the country. He has outlived his usefulness and at best can hope to remain in office for the rest of this term.
-- Margaret Kimberley's "Freedom Rider: Andrew Cuomo and the Black Political Class" (BLACK AGENDA REPORT).
