What, No White Caucus?

See also: NYC Officials Rip Segregated `Survivor’, Sara Kugler, AP, August 24, 2006

Everybody knows that the New York City Council lacks energy, imagination and — for the most part — integrity and intelligence.

It’s running a serious irony deficit, too.

Yesterday, members of the council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus (BLAC) met with the press to complain about — of all things — classifying individuals by race and/or ethnic origins.

The issue is an upcoming TV-reality series that will divide up contestants based on ethnicity.

Yeah, that’s a pretty obnoxious notion. But if the council members feel that it’s repugnant for TV producers to classify people by race — and, again, we agree that it is — then why have they formed a race-driven cliques like BLAC?

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Contact: Walter Fields, 212-614-5453

David R. Jones Keynote Speaker at New York City Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus Legislative Weekend

Milestone Event Spotlights Poverty Issues for City Council’s Elected Officials of Color

May 22, 2006, New York, New York — The New York City Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus held its first Legislative Weekend, May 20-22, 2006, at Pace University’s downtown New York City campus. The conference marks an important milestone for elected officials of color as they now comprise half of the City Council. The event, which was open to the public and attended by about 100, featured a keynote speech (PDF) by David R. Jones, president of the Community Service Society (CSS), on Saturday morning. There were also panel discussions on key areas of public policy focusing on poverty issues.

The event holds special significance for CSS. The CSS legislative redistricting project in the early 1990’s set the stage for the increase in the number of Blacks and Latinos in the Council, and the eventual election of the first Asian-American Council Member. Now, with a solid voting bloc, the Caucus can exert significant influence on the policy making and budget process in the City Council.