"Is he Black?": Public advocate candidate (C) questions Jumaane Williams' (D) identity and connection to Black community [View all]

During a Dec. 14 meeting of local Conservative Party candidates, public advocate contender Angela Aquino criticized incumbent Jumaane Williams, claiming he was disconnected from the experiences of most Black Americans and even questioned his racial identity.

“Currently, we have an incumbent that presents himself as a Black person. But is he really Black?” said Aquino in a speech before about two dozen attendees in the Bronx. She explained that in her view, Williams has not received real punishment for his multiple civil disobedience arrests, including a 2018 incident in which he was arrested during a protest and convicted of blocking an ambulance.

“The most that happened to him was suffer[ing] a stop and frisk. And he cried like a big baby when we know that the real Black person really gets arrested and gets convicted. That’s Black.”

Aquino questioned why Williams “has the nerve to say he can relate to the Black and brown community who has barely nothing to eat?” The Bronx Times reached out to Williams’ office and is awaiting a response......

Aquino, who described her own race as Asian-American, said that her experience as a single mother who has experienced domestic violence, as well as advocacy work with incarcerated people, has put her closer than Williams to the reality of Black people’s lived experience.



https://www.bxtimes.com/is-he-black-public-advocate-candidate-questions-jumaane-williams-identity-and-connection-to-black-community/