Council Member Jumaane Williams Sits Out The Pledge To Stand For Racial Justice
Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, District 45, took a ‘stand’ during Wednesday’s City Council meeting by sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance, to protest the treatment of black Americans by the NYPD. Williams’ nonviolent protest echoed 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who’s refusal to stand during the Pledge in August stirred public controversy.Williams’ public protest comes after news that Daniel Pantaleo, the NYPD cop who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold in 2014, was earning overtime pay during his investigation; coupled with City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s decision in July to block The Right To Know Act, a widely-supported package of police accountability bills, for City Council vote.
“What does it say about our country when there is a national outrage over an athlete sitting out the national anthem, but the same outrage isn’t expressed when a young Black man is killed for no reason.
[Daniel Pantaleo] was not only not prosecuted or punished for his crime, he was rewarded with increased pay. Where is the justice in that, especially as we struggle with issues of transparency when it comes to police records, including Panteleo’s, and are still fighting to have a vote on the widely supported Right to Know Act.”
Williams’ message was widely broadcast, as sat silently, head bowed, during the pledge at City Council’s reconvention from summer break. He was the only Council Member seated in the assembly hall on September 14, in the tradition of nonviolent protests from boycotts to sit-ins.
“I’ve always wondered how so many can ignore what history shows us; that America has always struggled with closing the gap between the ideals it espouses and the reality for so many,” Williams wrote.For Williams, the Pledge of Allegiance is not synonymous with patriotism and respect for his country of birth. “I’m no less American right now than I was the day I was born in this country that I love very much,” he told Newsday on Wednesday. “I believe it is my duty to do all I can to raise the voice of those who feel voiceless and who struggle every day.”Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito also has a history of not reciting the pledge, but when faced with scrutiny while running for the Speaker job, she began reciting it at meetings, reports the New York Daily News.Williams’ stance resonates with his continued work for social and racial justice, including the Use of Force reporting legislation demanding more oversight to the NYPD and introduction of the Right To Record Act to protect New Yorkers’ first amendment rights when filming police activity.