Public Employee Press

Union honors King’s legacy

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

How does a nascent politician defeat a 20-year incumbent? One vote at a time.

This was the lesson hundreds of DC 37 members learned Jan. 11 from state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the guest speaker at the union’s annual celebration honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“My journey is not different from your journey,” said Stewart-Cousins, who was born in Harlem’s Amsterdam Houses and now represents Yonkers District 35. “I want to thank DC 37 for supporting me — someone outside the system.

It wasn’t easy but it speaks volumes about the union’s subtle but strong leadership.”

As she stepped down from the stage and into the audience to recount the steps in her symbolic march toward Albany, Stewart-Cousins shared her story and its link to the King legacy.

Civil rights bring opportunities
Her mother was a high school dropout who did day work and learned to type 100 words a minute, but was denied jobs “because she was the wrong color,” Stewart-Cousins said. Civil service changed everything for the family when her mother landed a job at the Office of the New York City Corporation Counsel where she became a supervisor. Her father was a decorated World War II veteran.

Life was not easy for Stewart-Cousins but a class action lawsuit broke down barriers at New York Telephone Co., where she worked, and created opportunities for advancement that she said “changed my quality of life.” Women and people of color gained more opportunities because of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act that King fought for.

Stewart-Cousins later became Westchester Human Rights Commissioner and a city legislator, where she fought for a living wage.

She ran for state Senate “to change the way New York does business,” she said. And although her Republican opponent had “very powerful connections, and a father who was the County Clerk,” Stewart-Cousins lost her first race by just 18 votes. “It was the longest recount in history, but 18 votes were just enough to remind people that they mattered,” Stewart-Cousins said. “There is no barrier too strong, no mountain too big. We can’t be true to Dr. King’s legacy if we let obstacles stop us.”

And Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the first African American woman Democratic County legislator in Westchester, had the audacity and tenacity to live King’s dream and run again.

No obstacle too great
Stewart-Cousins’ 2006 campaign put 1,000 volunteers in the streets and 140 lawyers at the polls to protect Yonkers voters from disenfranchisement. She won the Senate seat by 2,345 votes and now represents a district that is 67 percent white.

“With hope, clarity of purpose, faith and integrity it can happen,” Stewart-Cousins said. “What people of good will want in the people sent to represent them is authenticity.”

The evening ended with a candle-lighting ceremony and song in Dr. King’s honor. Deanna Hogue of Local 1070 attended the event with her daughter, a student at Hampton University. She said, “I wanted her to get an idea of the struggles we faced and to get the motivation she will need to succeed — and Senator Stewart-Cousins delivered both.”