Thursday, April 22, 2010
In a recent Huffington Post entry, Congressman Edolphus Towns claims that I had nothing to do with the negotiations and eventual release of six young Brooklynites detained in Antigua and Barbuda in the Fall of 2009. Not only is his statement a pathetic attempt at scoring political points, but is also an outright lie. Moreover, it suggests that the Congressman - because I am running against him in Brooklyn, New York's 10th Congressional District this year - is desperate to get mileage out of an international situation he and his staffers initially ignored.
A week or so after the young people were unfairly detained after a cruise stop in Antigua and Barbuda, I received a Facebook message from Antoinette Lovelace, the sister of two of the detainees. Ms. Lovelace expressed great shock and concern that the various family member's calls to Mr. Towns' Brooklyn Congressional office had not been returned, in spite of the seriousness of the situation. Ms. Lovelace said she reached out to me because she knew my long reputation as a political activist, not just in Brooklyn, but nationally. I asked Ms. Lovelace if I could meet with her and all the family members, and we did so, releasing a statement to the public on Monday, September 14, 2009. Here is that statement:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Kevin Powell
BKNation
contact@kevinpowell.net
646-241-2274Veronica McCallister
Gemini Publicity and Talent
gpt3304@yahoo.com
646-713-9327STATEMENT FROM BROOKLYN, NEW YORK FAMILIES OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA DETAINEES
Monday, September 14, 2009
We the families of Rachel and Shoshannah Henry, Dolores and Nancy Lalanne, Joshua Jackson, and Mike Pierre-Paul are making this statement regarding the unfortunate situation with our loved ones in Antigua and Barbuda. They have been detained since Friday, September 4, 2009 under what we feel are unjust circumstances. Because the case is ongoing, we are not able to state all the facts at this time. However, we do feel compelled to speak on the character of these six young people.
We would like everyone to know these are professional, hard-working, educated individuals, church members of American and Caribbean heritage, and all are active members of their communities and civic organizations here in New York City. The six detainees are:
•Rachel Henry, age 27; certified chef; fashion and runway model
•Shoshannah Henry, age 24; singer-songwriter; law school student
•Dolores Lalanne, age 25; social worker
•Nancy Lalanne, age 22; licensed practical nurse
•Joshua Jackson, age 25; crew chief for international airline; customer service representative for utilities company
•Mike Pierre-Paul, age 25; licensed practical nurseWe ask that the media respect the privacy of the families involved. We request continued support from American officials for the immediate and safe return of the detainees. And we ask that all people of good conscience keep us in your prayers.
# # #
Even after this statement was released, still no response from Mr. Towns' nor his staff, in spite of some of the detainees living in his Congressional district. In Mr. Towns' editorial, he states that "I learn of the detention of the six Brooklynites from a radio report." The radio report Mr. Towns is referring to is the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show. What Mr. Towns fails to realize is that I am close friends with Tom Joyner Morning Show correspondents Roland Martin (also of CNN) and Jeff Johnson (also of BET), and that I personally asked both to publicly challenge Congressman Towns to do his job and assist these residents of Brooklyn, his district. These radio reports, including an interview with Mr. Towns conducted by Roland Martin, occurred the weeks of September 14 and September 21. It was only then, out of embarrassment and anger, that Mr. Towns and his staff got involved in the Antigua and Barbuda matter, approximately three weeks after the detainment began, or near the end of September 2009.
So it is patently false for Mr. Towns to assert "At a Brooklyn, NY, press conference attended by the families of the detainees, Kevin Powell applauds my efforts on the matter after only 24 hours of becoming involved." The reality is Mr. Towns did not show up at the press conference, following a pattern of not appearing for key events and situations in his Congressional district his entire 26 years in office.
This statement is also riddled with falsehoods: "I host a brunch at a local Brooklyn restaurant to update the families of the detainees on the progress of the negotiations. Kevin Powell is in attendance but offers no suggestions or other information on how to bring the detainees home. Again, he compliments how I have handled the matter."
First of all, I not only participated in the discussion at Two Steps Down, the Brooklyn restaurant Mr. Towns is referring to, but I actually sat next to him. And, yes, as a community leader with a national reputation, I have always applauded fellow leaders for showing up for serious matters such as these. But the point remains that Mr. Towns would not have gotten involved in this matter at all if I had not been contacted by the family, had I not called my colleagues in the media to publicly challenge him, and had the families not trusted me to be a spokesperson for this crisis. The goal was to bring their loved ones home, not to score political points. A statesman acknowledges the roles of all parties in solving an international conflict. Someone who fears for their political life seeks to attack and discredit.
The reality is that both Mr. Towns and I eventually traveled to Antigua and Barbuda, and both of us had high level meetings around the crisis, including with that country's Prime Minister. But the harsh reality is that Mr. Towns was there for perhaps 24 hours then left, whereas I stayed until the six detainees were eventually released, including testifying in court on their behalf. And I paid for the airfare for the six detainees back to America, something Mr. Towns also does not mention in his editorial.
What Mr. Towns also omits from his editorial is that it was I, Kevin Powell, who personally reached out to several Brooklyn elected officials to pay for the detainees' fines once it became clear they were going to be released. Those elected officials included Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, City Councilmember Letitia James, Councilmember Charles Barron, Assemblywoman Inez Barron, State Senator John Sampson, State Senator Eric Adams, and the powerful Brooklyn third party, the Working Families Party. This is something that Mr. Towns, in spite of being the longest serving Congressional member in the borough of Brooklyn, did not bother to do. If I had not done this, the fines would have been left to the Brooklyn families, adding further strain and stress at that difficult time.
And, to make matters worse, when we had the homecoming press conference at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Friday, October 9, 2009, Mr. Towns did not even bother to show up himself, in spite of Fridays being a day that Congressional members traditionally are in their home districts. See clip from press conference here: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7056854
Furthermore, and for the record, it is common knowledge that I attended Rutgers University 1984-1988 but never graduated. I have written about it in many of my 10 books, I have spoken about it in the 200-plus lectures and speeches I do each year nationally and internationally, and I often use my not finishing school as a way to motivate younger people to do something I did not complete myself, especially in the Brooklyn community in which I live and have been a long-time resident and community leader.
Mr. Towns claims that I am unsuitable for public office. However, the reality is that the Antigua matter, and his failure to respond until media pressure was brought, only reinforces why he is actually not a leader at all, and he himself not suited for public office. He's simply been reelected time and again using the same half-truths and smoke and mirrors he uses in his editorial to attack me. But it is clear that Mr. Towns' days are numbered. His latest demonstration of his lack of leadership, integrity, and concern for the American people is the recent report in the New York Daily News that he attempted to have $5.3 million in federal dollars routed to a questionable nonprofit with an abandoned building as its address. All while attempting to have one of his Congressional staffers on the nonprofit's payroll.
See the Daily News article here:
This is why I am running for Congress. President Barack Obama was a necessary first step in changing the climate of politics in our nation. But politics as usual will not end until we replace Congressional members, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, who put themselves and their own interests before the American people.
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Kevin Powell is a 2010 Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Brooklyn, NY. He can be reached at kevin@kevinpowell.net. To support Kevin Powell for Congress, please DONATE online now.