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12 • February 3, 2022 - February 9, 2022 THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS Opinion NYC—Mayor Eric Adams is the leading protagonist in our collective horror film By ADOFO A. MUHAMMAD Ed.D ago in the eyes of those who truly study the history constitutional rights of New York City citizens and the of the American experiment. need to rid the streets of individuals who are seeming- I woke up this morning and had a profound epiph- We are all collectively living in a horror movie that ly running wild engaging in barbarous behavior and any. It wasn’t a new thought, but it was a persistent was thought to be unthinkable prior to March of 2020, terrorizing some of our communities. thought that I have been unable to escape. New York when even the greatest city in the country ostensibly This must stop. If we were able to better police our City needs order. The rise in criminal activity, un- shut down under the crushing weight of COVID-19. In own communities and check the behavior of those employment coupled with fear and anxiety in the any horror film, there exist several basic elements. A who we know are bastardizing the neighborhoods we midst of an ongoing pandemic are the perfect ingre- main character, a terrifying entity or individual, a scary live in, this long-standing dilemma of Black and Brown dients for the continued decline of a nation whose setting and multiple plot twists. In a good horror story, self-induced destructive behavior would not exist, but claims to American exceptionalism have faded long there is a protagonist who has the uncanny ability to like it or not, it does. I don’t want Mayor Adams to suc- face adversity, endure personal anguish ceed just because I have personal affection and admi- and provide hope to those who have lost it. ration for him. I want him to succeed because we all A Black woman for SCOTUS America, and in particular New York City, need him to. The stakes are high. We have seen this has been a horror show for some. What the story unfold before. In several Hollywood films, the Discussing or attempting to balance controversial viewpoints pandemic has revealed is the hidden shame Black man only seems to ascend to the highest polit- is never an easy task, and ones on Critical Race Theory, or the of America, the haves strive no matter the ical office during a catastrophic event. Morgan Free- opinions of Joe Rogan, Whoopi Goldberg or the objections conditions, while the have-nots suffer due man was the president in the film “Deep Impact.” The raised by those on the right about President Biden’s promise to their station in life, whether it’s a lack of plot centered around an extinction level event. We are to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, are a few of adequate health care, access to a quality in our own extinction level event, however this is not the recent iterations erupting on media platforms. education, or being trapped in the vicious a Hollywood film. This is our reality. Let’s take the latter of these issues, and perhaps the cycle of the ghettoization of their commu- It’s only been one month since Mayor Adams’ as- EDITORIAL most pertinent one for many Americans concerned nities. There is true suffering that is taking cendency to the mayorship. Eric Adams is only the about the course of social and political developments. place every day in our once great city. second person of African descent to be mayor of New Currently, Biden has not chosen a candidate and I believe, in this day, in this time, Mayor York City in its 398 year history. I have seen firsthand three names have been bandied about as possible Eric Adams is the leading protagonist in what a lack of order can do to a community, and what choices—J. Michelle Childs, a judge of the U.S. District our collective horror film. Mayor Adams racism and classicism can do. I have witnessed the Court for the District of South Carolina; Ketanji Brown embodies the hope and aspirations of so Dinkins era, the Guiliani era, the Bloomberg era and Jackson, a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Dis- many in the Black and Brown communi- the de Blasio era. I have never been more confident trict of Columbia Circuit; and Leondra Reid Kruger, an ty who have faced almost insurmountable in a mayor as I am confident with Mayor Eric Adams. associate justice of the Supreme Court of California. odds, but still persevere, no matter the con- We need to give him time to implement his strategies, Each one is highly regarded and would expand the notion ditions they have emerged from. The city is tactics and agenda. But make no mistake about it, we of diversity considerably with the addition of the first Black out of control; law and order must exist or need buffoons, miscreants and those who are afflict- woman on the bench. Depending on what part of the country there will be sheer anarchy and further de- ing skulduggery against our communities to be dealt you favor, the age, or the political connections of the candidates, cline will take place. We cannot afford for with. Our children, wives, sisters and brothers must all three almost comprise a virtual tie in recommendations and that to take place. It’s simply not an option. be safe, there is no debate regarding this fact. They de- qualifications. A lot of Black and Brown New Yorkers re- serve it. I believe Mayor Adams is the right man at the On the surface, Biden has a no-lose proposition, but to hear member Stop-and-Frisk, we remember right time and in the right place to manifest this into the volume of dissent on the right from such prominent elect- how the nation’s largest police force often existence. Like it or not. ed GOP members as Sen. Ted Cruz and a chorus of media feels like an occupying force that serves, commentators, the women are not representative of the over- protects, and breaks a brother’s neck. It’s Adofo A. Muhammad Ed.D serves as principal of all American population. Well, these naysayers don’t have to a fine line to navigate, the upholding of the Brooklyn’s Bedford Academy High School. look too far back to recall President Reagan’s choice and how he justified nominating Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981, an ob- vious choice to bolster his presidential bid. The pandemic and the babies We see very little difference between Reagan’s decision to By ADOFO A. MUHAMMAD Ed.D you provided. place a woman on the Court than Biden’s choice to place a When I started in District 13 in March Black woman on the highest court. No, it won’t change the ide- I have long regarded the New York of 1998, the first books I received were ological outlook, which would remain at 6 to 3. But it is a step City Department of Education as an entity from the legendary educational giant, Dr. toward balancing the court, a far cry from trying to balance the that has mastered the purposefulness of Lester Young. The books would lay the differing opinions mentioned at the start of this editorial. failure. Any measure of success children foundation for my educational career. The No matter which candidate of the three is nominated, there and schools have enjoyed has been gar- first book was called “The Dreamkeep- is sure to be more pushback from members of the Senate Ju- nered despite the system from which they ers: Successful Teachers of African Amer- diciary Committee, where Sen. Dick Durbin has the gavel. But operate from. Successful schools func- ican Children” by Gloria Ladson-Billings when the rancor dies down, it will be time to raise a different tion as silos in the midst of the weight which spoke to what is called Critical Race roar of celebration as we welcome the first Black woman to the of a bloated bureaucracy that profess- Theory, which, simply put, is the ability Supreme Court. es to have the interest of every child as for an educator to craft a lesson that in- its No. 1 priority but episodic leadership, corporates the culture and values of the promotions of individuals to positions of children that the educator is charged with power who wallowed in mediocrity, cou- teaching. On a deeper level, it is the es- pled with wasteful spending and a top- sence of cultural plurality and the in- down leadership paradigm have plagued tersectionality between race, class and the system for years. I come from an era gender. An educator who has embraced where you had to prove your mettle as Critical Race Theory understands that an educator based on student outcomes. there must be an inclusivity where every Student outcomes reveal themselves in a historically undervalued American can variety of ways—they can be test scores, see themselves in the curriculum that is graduation rates, scholarship reports, being taught. attendance rates or even a parents’ or The second book was by Charlotte Dan- scholars’ smile or a visit after a graduate ielson, it was titled “Enhancing Profes- enters college and comes back and thanks sional Practice.” The framework was based you for the sacrifice, time, and structure See STUDENTS on page 29