* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. YEAH. SO WE MAY, SO [00:00:01] THE NEXT YEAR PROBABLY BE LIKE APRIL. OKAY. THAT'S BE BEAUTIFUL. UM, DID YOU GUYS HAVE, DID THE KIDS GET OUT EARLY OR SOMETHING TODAY FOR SCHOOL? NO, THE KIDS DIDN'T COME TO SCHOOL BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE DAY THEIR HOLIDAYS, SO. OKAY, GOOD, GOOD, GOOD. THAT'S A BLESSING. GOTTA BE WITH YOUR FAMILY AND YEAH, WE HAD A BIG TURNOUT IN THE PARK. I KNOW THEY DID. THEY ALWAYS DO A REALLY NICE ONE AROUND THE CORNER. MINE DID. GOING. OH YEAH. 'CAUSE YOU GUYS LIVE RIGHT BY US. AND WE HAD THE MAST OVER THERE. THEY SHUT DOWN THE STREET ALL WELL. BEAUTIFUL. SO EVERYONE, I JUST WANNA, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE TIME FOR BEING HERE. CERTAINLY ON A DAY, THAT'S A HOLY DAY. MM-HMM. RIGHT? SO, EMO ROCK TO EVERYONE. UM, AND OF COURSE, JUST A DAY. I THINK EVERY DAY WHEN WE GET TO BE ALIVE AND GOING TO WORK AND GOING TO SCHOOL AND BEING PRESENT FOR OUR FRIENDS IN TIMES THAT AREN'T REALLY ALWAYS EASY FOR ANYONE, UH, FEEL VERY SPECIAL TO ME. SO WE DON'T TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED. SO I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU TO BE HERE. UH, AS YOU GUYS KNOW, UM, ANDORIAN RAY THOMAS, COUNTY COMMISSIONER HERE IN ESSEX HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO. SO THAT'S MAPLEWOOD, THAT'S IRVINGTON, THAT'S THE GREAT CITY OF NEWARK, CENTRAL AND SOUTH WARDS. UM, AND, AND AGAIN, ALL THREE OF THOSE CITIES AND TOWNS ARE AMAZING, AS YOU KNOW. AND YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE. BUT ALWAYS LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE ROOMS HERE IN THE COUNTY COMPLEX. 'CAUSE I CALLED THE PEOPLE'S CHAMBERS. IF YOU LOOK, YOU CAN SEE EVERY SINGLE CITY, EVERY SINGLE MUNICIPALITY HERE IN ESSEX, FROM NEWARK TO IRVINGTON TO MAPLEWOOD REPRESENTED. SO WHEN YOU'RE HERE, I HOPE YOU REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE IN A PLACE THAT IS YOURS IN A, CERTAINLY OURS. AS I SHARED, AS WE WERE, YOU KNOW, CHATTING BEFORE THE FORMAL PROGRAM. UH, IT WAS REALLY INCUMBENT UPON ME, FIRSTLY AS A CARIBBEAN WOMAN, BUT SECONDLY, AS A CARIBBEAN WOMAN WHO UNDERSTANDS, LIKE ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM THAT WE'RE LIVING IN TIMES WE, THERE IS ATTACKS ON MEMORY ITSELF. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE AT A TIME THAT DOESN'T WANT US TO REMEMBER WHO WE ARE AS A NATION, AS A DIASPORA, AS A COMMUNITY, AND HOW OUR DIFFERENCES ARE REALLY WHAT MAKES US BEAUTIFUL AND SPECIAL. AND SO, I, I DIDN'T WANT THE MONTH OF MAY TO END PERIOD, BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT MONTH, UH, BUT I CERTAINLY DIDN'T WANT THE MONTH OF MAY TO END FOR A FEW REASONS, NOT JUST BECAUSE I'M A TAURUS AND MY BIRTHDAY IS MAY 18TH. BUT, UH, FOR, FOR TWO REASONS, BECAUSE THERE'S TWO PARTICULAR THINGS THAT ARE SPECIAL TO ME AND TO ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM THAT OCCUR DURING THE MONTH OF MAY. ONE IS MAY 18TH, WHICH IS HAITIAN FLAG DAY, WHICH ALSO HAPPENS TO BE MY BIRTHDAY. SO I FEEL LIKE I WAS BORN AS AN UNOFFICIAL HAITIAN AND AN UNOFFICIAL BLACK GIRL, UH, REVOLUTIONARY. UH, BUT SECONDLY, WE ALSO CELEBRATED JUST YESTERDAY GUYANESE, UH, INDEPENDENCE DAY, WHICH IS THE DAY THAT BLACK FOLK AND ALL FOLK INDIAN FOLK, ALL THE FOLK INDIGENOUS WHO MAKE UP, UH, THE GREAT COUNTRY OF GUYANA, CLAIM THEIR INDEPENDENCE FROM THE THE COLONY OF BRITAIN. AND SO THIS MONTH WE ARE CELEBRATING EACH OF YOU AS A PART OF THE GUYANESE, AS A PART OF THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY HERE IN AMERICA AND A PART OF THE DIASPORA. AND I HOPE THAT YOU'LL JOIN US AGAIN IN JUNE FOR CARIBBEAN HERITAGE MONTH, WHERE WE RECOGNIZE ALL THE DIFFERENT CARIBBEAN COMMUNITIES, A PART OF ESSEX COUNTY, HOMEMAKER COUNTY IS AMAZING AS THEY ARE, UM, AND WHO WORK HARD. WE'RE GONNA BE HONORING OUR FLAG RAISING COMMITTEES FROM THE GUYANESE FLAG, RAISING COMMITTEES TO THE HAITIAN CARIBBEAN, UH, FLAG RAISING COMMITTEES TO ALL OF THEM, BRINGING THEM ALL HERE AGAIN TO CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT WE REMEMBER, REMEMBER THAT MANY OF US IN THIS ROOM OURSELVES WERE IMMIGRANTS. REMEMBER THAT MYSELF, LIKE MY PARENTS, I WAS BORN HERE. MY FATHER WAS FROM GUYANA, MY MOM WAS FROM THE UNITED STATES, BUT ALL MY PEOPLE CAME HERE BECAUSE OF MOVEMENT AND MIGRATION. MY MOM'S SIDE FROM SOUTH CAROLINA TO NEW JERSEY IN THE MIDDLE OF JIM CROW, MY GRANDMOTHER WENT TO SEGREGATED SCHOOLS. UM, SHE REMEMBERED NOT BEING ABLE, ALLOWED TO VOTE RIGHT, AND WOULD BE ABLE TO RAISE HER DAUGHTER AND HER SON TO BECOME COLLEGE GRADUATES HERE IN NEW JERSEY. MY FATHER IMMIGRATED HERE FROM BUR BEACH. YOU KNOW, MY GRANDMOTHER HAD TO COME TO UNITED STATES FIRST, SAVE UP THE MONEY FROM MY, MY FATHER, MY AUNTS, AND MY UNCLE TO COME HERE, RIGHT? SO WE CELEBRATE THIS MONTH BECAUSE LIKE ALL OF YOU, WE REMEMBER THAT WE DIDN'T JUST GET HERE, BUT THAT WE EARNED OUR, OUR TIME HERE IN THIS COUNTRY AND OUR TIME HERE TO GIVE BACK TO THOSE WHO'VE GIVEN SO MUCH TO US. AND THAT'S WHY I'M HONORED TO CELEBRATE YOU GUYS TO CELEBRATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE REMEMBER AND THAT WE UPLIFT AND EMPOWER OUR COMMUNITIES. WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, IT'S MY HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO INTRODUCE TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SO INSTRUMENTAL TO MAKING SURE WE CELEBRATE THE MEMORY TO THE MOVEMENT OF THE GUYANESE COMMUNITY HERE IN ESSEX AND CERTAINLY IN THE CITY OF NEWARK. AND THAT IS THE GUY, THE GUYANESE FLAG RAISING COMMITTEE OF THE GREAT CITY OF NEWARK. SO, ZA AND CARLA, [00:05:01] IF YOU WOULD JOIN ME UP HERE, AS I SHARED JUST YESTERDAY, WE CELEBRATED GUYANESE INDEPENDENCE DAY. UM, AND IT'S A DAY WHERE WE MARK THE MOMENT ON MAY 26TH IN 1966 WHEN THE GOLDEN ARROWHEAD WAS FIRST RAISED AS A SYMBOL OF INDEPENDENCE, SOVEREIGNTY IN NATIONAL PRIDE, UH, BUILT, YOU KNOW WHAT I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ALREADY. SO I'LL LET YOU GUYS TALK TO THE FOLK AROUND WHY WE HAVE THOSE PARTICULAR COLORS, WHAT THOSE COLORS MEAN IN THE FLAG. BUT I I I'LL SAY THIS, UH, BOTH CARLISLE AND MAFIA CAME HERE STRAIGHT FROM SCHOOL. , THEY'RE EDUCATORS. THEY CARE ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE. THEY CARE ABOUT BOTH THE GUYANESE DIASPORA, BUT ALSO THAT ALL OF OUR STRUGGLES ARE LINKED THAT FROM GUYANESE PEOPLE TO CARIBBEAN PEOPLE, TO AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE, TO LATINO, TO EVERYONE WHO MAKES UP OUR ESS COUNTY. IF WE ARE NOT WINNING TOGETHER, THEN THAT MEANS WE'RE NOT WINNING AT ALL. AND SO IT'S AN HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO CELEBRATE YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU DO TO CELEBRATE OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH THE FLAG RAISING COMMITTEE COMMITTEE, BUT CERTAINLY TO DO EVERY SINGLE DAY TO UPLIFT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. SO IT'S AN HONOR TO GIVE YOU THIS FLAG OR, OR RATHER THIS COMMEMORATIVE, UH, PIECE IN CELEBRATION OF FLAG DAY AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO OFFER US A FEW REMARKS. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON. ALL GREETINGS. ALL GREETINGS. UM, IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE ALWAYS, UM, TO BE RECOGNIZED BY A CITY, BY A COUNTY, UH, BY A, A PLACE WHERE WE ALL RESIDE AND THAT ALLOWS US TO BE WHO WE ARE. UM, GROWING UP IN THE STATES, IN ESSEX COUNTY, WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY HOME, ONE OF THE BEST PLACE THERE IS, WE WERE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE SOMETHING WHERE, UM, I, I WOULD THINK ABOUT WHEN WE FIRST GOT HERE, AND IT WAS NEW TO HEAR A GUYANESE VOICE, AND PEOPLE COULDN'T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GUYANESE, JAMAICAN, TRINIDAD OR HAITIAN TO NOW WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE WHEN THEY HEAR, UH, MR. ADAMS ACCENT COME OUT, THEY SAY, OH, DON'T GET MR. ADAMS ACCENT. AND THEY, THEY KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OUR, OUR ACCENT. BUT BECAUSE THAT'S BECAUSE WE HAD ACCESS, UM, TO THOSE THINGS. BUT I, I DEFINITELY WANT TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT YOU COMMISSIONER MAUR THOMAS, BECAUSE YOU ARE WHAT IS A POSSIBILITY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT, UM, YOU HEAR THE PHRASE DREAMS INTO REALITY. UH, THAT'S AN INDIVIDUAL THING. NO SYSTEM CAN CREATE THAT. THE ONLY THING SYSTEM CAN CREATE IS OPPORTUNITIES AND INITIATIVE. BUT THE INDIVIDUALITY TO TURN YOUR DREAM INTO REALITY IS A POWERFUL THING. AND IT, IT MAKES THIS DREAM NOT FARFETCHED. IT ALSO MAKES THIS DREAM NOT UNREACHABLE BECAUSE YOUNG GUYANESE, UH, FEMALES, YOUNG GUYANESE MALES THAT ARE GROWING UP IN THIS, UH, ESSEX COUNTY CAN UNDERSTAND. OH, I KNOW, UH, A DORIAN MORRIS STAR. I KNOW COMMISSIONER A DORIAN, I KNOW MISS A DORIAN. 'CAUSE THEY KNOW YOU BY MANY NAMES. THEY KNOW YOU BY MANY TITLES, BUT YOU ARE A DAUGHTER OF WHAT I LOOK AT AND ADMIRATION. YOU ARE A CHILD OF ADMIRATION. YOU ARE A CHILD THAT WAS PUT HERE FOR A REASON. AND, UM, YOU ARE BLESSED THAT IN YOUR DNA IS A GUYANESE SPIRIT THAT GUYANESE BLOOD. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, I, I THANK YOU AND I HONOR YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER, THANK, GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. UH, GOOD EVENING. I JUST WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO THANK COMMISSIONER THOMAS AND EVERYONE HERE FOR RECOGNIZING CARIBBEAN HERITAGE AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE IN THE MANY DIFFERENT CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES AND THE PEOPLE HERE. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE CULTURE IS, IS REMEMBERED, UM, BECAUSE IT'S JUST SUCH A BROAD AMOUNT OF PEOPLE, NOT ONLY STUDENTS, BUT HERE IN NOT ONLY NEWARK, BUT IN THE BROADER S COUNTY IN THE COUNTRY. SO WE THANK YOU FOR THIS AND JUST, JUST FOR REMEMBERING, ACKNOWLEDGING AND, AND ALL THE CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES. THANK YOU FOR THAT. ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY , TWO MORE. LAST ONE. [00:10:02] THANK. CAN WE GET INDIVIDUAL PICTURES OF CARL OUT, COME OUT, CAR OUT, AND THEN MY PIZZA PIECE FIRST, AND YEAH, JUST, AND JASMINE, WE'LL DO THE SAME THING WITH YOU IN THE PAST. ONE MOMENT. LAST ONE. NEXT. JUST TURN ONE LAST ONE. THANK YOU MUCH. I SHOULD MENTION THAT IT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO ACCEPT THE COMMENDATION AND TALK ABOUT YOURS TRULY. BUT I DO REALLY APPRECIATE THOSE KIND WORDS, AND I THINK IT'S A TESTAMENT TO, UH, THE WORK THAT EACH OF YOU DO. UH, I WANT TO JUST SHARE THIS, AND I WANT TO SHARE THIS. UM, YOU KNOW, BOTH ZA AND CARLISLE SPOKE ABOUT HOW IT'S LIKE A GUYANESE SPIRIT, RIGHT? AND THAT SPIRIT OF POWER, THAT SPIRIT OF LOVE AND RESILIENCE THAT WE SEE IN THE GUYANESE COMMUNITY CERTAINLY EXIST ACROSS ALL OF OUR CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES. YOU KNOW, YOU COULD SEE IT IN THE COLORS OF THE FLAG, RIGHT? THE YELLOW, THE GREEN, THE RED, RIGHT? REPRESENTING THE COUNTRY'S ABUNDANT NATURAL RESOURCES, ENDURANCE OF ITS PEOPLE, AND THE SPIRIT OF UNITY THAT'S CARRIED OUR COUNTRY THROUGH SIX DECADES OF PRIDE OF PROGRESS. BUT YOU SEE IT IN THE, IN THE BLUE, THE RED AND THE WHITE TOO. AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S FITTING, I THINK ABOUT KOFI, RIGHT? OF, OF BURES, YOU KNOW, A A MAN WHO I WANNA SAY IN A YEAR, THIS IS THE HISTORIAN I'M LOOKING AT. UH, , CORRECT ME, I THINK IT WAS 1783. I COULD BE WRONG, 63, YEAH. OKAY. BUT A MAN, UH, KOFI, UH, WHO WAS ORIGINALLY FROM GHANA, STOLEN FROM GHANA, BROUGHT TO BURES AND ORGANIZED ONE OF THE LARGEST SLAVE REBELLIONS IN GUYANA. ABOUT 3000 PEOPLE FOR OVER A STRETCH OF, ABOUT, I WANNA SAY LIKE TEN THREE TO THREE TO 10 YEARS. I SHOULD, I'LL, I'LL GET BACK ON THE HISTORY. BUT LIKE OVER SEVERAL YEARS FOUGHT AGAINST THE DUTCH, UH, THE BRITISH AND THE PORTUGUESE, YOU KNOW, COLONIZATION. ULTIMATELY THE REBELLION WAS QUELLED, BUT THAT SPIRIT OF FIGHT LIVED ON, UH, YOU HAD THE SAME TYPE OF SPIRIT OF REBELLION AND RESISTANCE THAT ENDURED WITHIN OUR INDENTURED INDIAN GUYANESE FOLK WHO WERE FORCED, WHO CAME TO OUR COUNTRY FOR BETTER LIFE, BUT WERE FORCED IN UNSPEAKABLE CONDITIONS AND THAT SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE LIVED ON. BUT THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT RESISTANCE IS THAT IT IS CONTAGIOUS AND IT JUST MOVES AND IT MOVES AND IT LIVES. AND I THINK THAT, UH, THERE'S NO BETTER MONTH TO CELEBRATE. AND, AND, YOU KNOW, A GROUP OF FOLKS WHO ALSO HELP EMBLEM THE SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE THAN THE MEMBERS OF OUR HAITIAN COMMUNITY. UM, WHERE, AND IN 1803, I KNOW WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY DEPUTY CLERK, MS. BROWN, KATHY BROWN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND OUR GOOD, UH, LEADER IN CHIEF, BROTHER ADAM. WE APPRECIATE YOU, MY GOODNESS. AND KYLE, OF COURSE. AND THEN WE GOT LLOYD PEOPLE WHO HELP MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE DO HERE RUNS SMOOTHLY. BUT IN THE GREAT REPUBLIC OF HAITI AT 1803, RIGHT WHERE PEOPLE SAID, YOU WILL NOT TREAT US THE WAY YOU WANT TO TREAT US, AND DON'T EXPECT FOR US TO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT IT. AND RESISTED AND REBEL, NOT JUST IN 1803, BUT FOR YEARS STRETCHING INTO, CULMINATING INTO 1803 AND ULTIMATELY MAKING HAITI THE FIRST FREE REPUBLIC, BLACK REPUBLIC ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, BUT THAT FRANKLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE LIBERATION OF EVERY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH FOR, FOR CENTURIES ON END. AND SO, WITH THAT SAID, I, I'M DELIGHTED. UM, IT'S MY DELIGHT TO, UH, BRING UP OUR, OUR NEXT HONOREES AND, AND CELEBRANTS OF THIS EVENING AS YOU CELEBRATE, UH, HAITIAN FLAG DAY. UM, WHAT, YOU KNOW, I SHARED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY, BUT, UH, I'M GONNA INVITE, UH, BOTH TWO DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY TO THE PODIUM, JUST TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS DAY, ITS IMPORTANCE, UM, AND, AND WHY IT MATTERS TODAY. UH, SO FIRST OFF, I'M ACTUALLY GONNA BRING UP MY GOOD FRIEND, UH, JASMINE MATTIS, WHO IS NOT ONLY A [00:15:01] PROUD, UH, HAITIAN AMERICAN WOMAN, UH, BUT SOMEONE WHO IS A LEADER IN SO MANY THINGS, BUT GREAT FROM THE GRAY CITY OF IRVINGTON, A CHAIR OF THE YOUNG WOMEN DEMOCRATS. UM, SO I'M GONNA HAVE YOU LEAD, AND THEN I'M GONNA BRING UP OUR DISTINGUISHED PASTOR AS WELL, UH, FOLLOWING JASMINE JUST TO MAKE, UH, SOME REMARKS. THANK YOU. I THOUGHT THE COMMISSIONER WAS GONNA HAVE THE PASTOR GO FIRST, BUT , GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. BO OKAY, WE'RE GONNA LEARN SOME CRAYOL TODAY. TEACH ME BO OKAY, GOOD. ON THE PRONUNCIATION, THAT MEANS HELLO EVERYBODY. UM, COMMISSIONER MO THOMAS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE HONOR. I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT. UM, IF ANYBODY KNOWS ME AND A DORIAN, SHE'S LITERALLY A SISTER TO ME. AND, UM, I'M, I'M JUST SO INSPIRED BY YOU AND THE WORK THAT YOU DO THROUGHOUT THE, NOT EVEN JUST THE COUNTY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE STATE. SO I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU. SO GIVE IT UP FOR THE COMMISSIONER. SHE DOESN'T GET ENOUGH FLOWERS, BUT TODAY YOU WILL BE GETTING YOUR FLOWERS. SO I KNOW, UM, HAITIAN FLAG DAY DID PASS, WHICH WAS MAY 18TH, UM, WHAT THE COMMISSIONER HAD SAID. AND I JUST WANTED TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HAITI'S HISTORY. I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE KIND OF FORGET THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HAITIAN FLAG DAY, AND THEY KIND OF JUST THINK ABOUT LIKE THE BIG OVERALL CELEBRATION, BUT NOT REALLY HOW WE GOT THERE. SO ON MAY 18TH, 1803 AT THE STORE, CONGRESS OF AKE, THE HAITIAN REVOLUTIONARIES MADE A VERY BOLD AND UNIFIED DECISION, LIBERTY OR DEATH. THIS GATHERING LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR HADES INDEPENDENCE BY TWO REVOLUTIONARY LEADERS, WHO YOU PROBABLY ALL MAY KNOW, JEAN JACQUE DESSALINES AND ALEXANDRO PEON, UNITED THE BLACK AND MIXED RACE POPULATIONS TO FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE FROM FRANCE, FORGING THE INDIGENOUS ARMY THAT WOULD LEAD THE FINAL FIGHT AGAINST THE FRENCH COLONIAL FORCES. DURING THIS CONGRESS, DESSALINES REMOVED THE WHITE BAND FROM THE FRENCH TRICOLOR FLAG, AND THE REMAINING BLUE AND RED WERE STITCHED TOGETHER BY SEAMSTRESS CATHERINE FLO SYMBOLIZING THE ALLIANCE OF THE PEOPLE AND THE REJECTION OF COLONIAL RULE, DRAFTING A PACT OF RESISTANCE, PLEDGING UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO FREEDOM. THIS MOMENT WAS NOT JUST ABOUT A WAR, IT WAS A BIRTH OF THE NEW NATION'S IDENTITY. HAITI IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF RESILIENCE, AND I WANT TO SHARE A PERSONAL STORY, NOT EVEN JUST READING OFF MY NOTES, BUT I KNOW WE ALL ARE ACKNOWLEDGING WHAT IS GOING ON AT DELANEY HALL RIGHT NOW. AND I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO NOT DO ONLY ONE, BUT TWO AND MORE ONGOING VISITS AT THE DETENTION CENTER. AND WHEN I SAY THAT HAITI IS A ROLE MODEL FOR US TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING FREEDOM, WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING THAT WE CANNOT JUST TAKE WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW, I THINK I AM MORE THAN PRIVILEGED AND HONORED TO NOT EVEN BE ONLY BORN IN HAITI, BUT ALSO TO EVEN SHARE MY CULTURE AND HAVE THOSE AROUND ME UNDERSTAND THIS IS WHAT OUR ANCESTORS WANT TO SEE TODAY. AND THANK YOU. AND I DO NOT TAKE THIS STRENGTH FOR GRANTED. LAST NIGHT AT DELANEY HALL, UM, THE ICE OFFICERS WERE PRESENT AND WE LOCKED ARMS WITH EACH OTHER, AND THEY SPRAYED TEAR GAS. THANKFULLY, I DID NOT GET SPRAYED WITH TEAR GAS, BUT, UM, THEY DID SPRAY OTHER PROTESTORS WITH THE TEAR GAS. AND I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE I THINK ABOUT HAITI'S HISTORY, AND IF THEY SAT BACK AND IF THEY WEREN'T THE FIRST BLACK FREE NATION THAT NOT ONLY CARED ABOUT THEIR OWN INDEPENDENCE, BUT ALSO MADE SURE THAT OTHER PEOPLE WERE ON THE FOREFRONT. BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT FLAGS LIKE VENEZUELA, WHEN YOU LOOK AT FLAGS LIKE PANAMA, THAT'S RIGHT. WHEN YOU LOOK AT FLAGS LIKE COLUMBIA, ALL THE COLORS ARE THE SAME BECAUSE HAITI ASSISTED THOSE COUNTRIES. SO, AND NOT EVEN JUST ONLY THOSE COUNTRIES, BUT ALSO THE UNITED STATES. YES, I'M, YOU THINK ABOUT THE RICH HISTORY THAT HAITI HAS BROUGHT SO MUCH TO THE WORLD, AND I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DID NOT TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENSURE THAT I'M NOT CONTINUING THE FIGHT. SO I HOPE THAT YOU ALL PLEDGE TOGETHER, WHETHER YOU SHOW UP AT DELANEY HALL, OR WHETHER YOU SHOW UP TO DONATE, WHETHER YOU SHOW UP WITH SUPPLIES, THEY NEED IT. AND I KNOW IT IS INSANE TIMES. YES, IT IS CRAZY TIMES. AND AGAIN, LIKE I SAID, EVEN WE'RE STILL CELEBRATING HAITIAN HERITAGE MONTH, BUT I THINK WE WOULD BE REMISS TO NOT ALSO UNDERSTAND THE FIGHT, THE BLOOD, THE SWEAT AND TEARS THAT OUR ANCESTORS BROUGHT US TO THIS MOMENT TODAY. THANK YOU. ONE MORE ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR WHO IS NOT ONLY LIKE ONE OF THE [00:20:01] MOST BRILLIANT, UH, YOUNG LEADERS IN OUR COUNTY WHO HAVE THE PLEASURE OF CALLING A SISTER, BUT A TRUE WOMAN WHO LIFTS AS SHE CLIMBS, WHO MAKES SPACE FOR OTHER PEOPLE, WHO IS CONNECTED AS YOU SAW ON THE GROUND. UM, AND WHO ALSO CHAIRS, I I DIDN'T MENTION HER OFFICIAL TITLES EARLIER, WHO DOES A NUMBER OF THINGS. I DON'T KNOW, SHOULD I SAY THE OTHER THING? CAN I SAY THE OTHER THING? YES. OKAY. WELL, WELL, IN HER, UH, POLITICAL HAT, SHE'S THE CHAIR OF THE ESS COUNTY YOUNG DEMOCRATS, UM, BUT IS ALWAYS ON THE FRONT LINES FOR PEOPLE, AND I'M SO GLAD YOU MENTIONED DELANEY. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M REALLY PROUD OF HERE AS A BOARD MEMBER, YOU KNOW, HERE, YOU KNOW, THAT PROPERTY THAT DELANEY IS ON, UM, IS NOT COUNTY OWNED, BUT THE LOT NEXT TO IT IS, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF COUNTY FACILITIES THERE. AND SO SOMETHING THAT MYSELF, UH, FELLOW COMMISSIONERS AND OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE, UH, REALLY WORKED HARD TO DO WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VERY LEAST, BECAUSE THIS BILLION DOLLAR ORGANIZATION DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY TO CREATE ANY KIND OF INDOOR WAITING ROOM, UH, OR WILL RATHER, UH, FOR THEIR VISITORS, THAT WE COULD, YOU KNOW, MAYBE CREATE SOMETHING IN OUR OWN PROPERTY THAT COULD BE, UH, UH, HELPFUL FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE VISITING THEIR FAMILIES. TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS AND EXTRAORDINARY HEAT. ANYWAY, BECAUSE OF THAT, WE HAVE A TENT THAT'S THERE. UH, WE HAVE, THERE'S LIKE ANOTHER STRUCTURE THAT'S BEEN THERE. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, SOME OF THE RESOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN NEEDED TO PROVIDE, UH, FOR, UH, DETAINEES, FOR, FOR, FOR VISITORS, FOR PROTESTORS, ET CETERA, UH, BUT CERTAINLY FOR THE VISITORS OF THE FAMILIES, THAT'S BEEN THE PRIORITY GOAL. UM, THOSE THINGS ARE THERE. AND SO WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THAT. AND I'VE, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO JASMINE, I'VE BEEN TO DELANEY A FEW TIMES NOW. UM, AND A LOT OF THE, WHAT WE'RE SEEING TODAY IS, IS ABYSMAL. UM, BUT A LOT OF IT, AGAIN, IS A MANIFESTATION OF SOME OF THE VIOLENCES THAT HAVE OCCURRED US IN DIFFERENT WAYS, UH, BEFORE. AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT WE STAY VIGILANT AND STAY CONNECTED AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER. SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR THAT REALLY GROUNDED REMARKS. LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, TO, TO REALLY KIND OF BRING US HOME, WHEN I WAS REACHING OUT TO MY GOOD FRIEND, ANOTHER FELLOW COUNTY COMMISSIONER, BUT IN UNION COUNTY, UH, NEW JERSEY, I SAID, I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SOMEONE FROM CLERGY, FROM THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY TO REALLY BRING US HOME AND HELP US CELEBRATE HAITIAN FLAG DAY TODAY. HE SAID, WELL, YOU GOTTA TALK TO PASTOR JEAN MAURICE. OKAY. HE'S LIKE, 'CAUSE HE'S THE ONE WHO CAN REALLY HELP US UNDERSTAND WHY THESE DAYS IN THE CELEBRATION IS SO IMPORTANT AND HOW IT'S CONNECTED TO, TO ALL OF US FLOURISHING, UH, COLLECTIVELY AS A COMMUNITY. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, UH, PASTOR MAURICE, IF YOU COULD JUST JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE YOU, AS WE CELEBRATION FLAG DAY, AND, AND BLESS US WITH A FEW REMARKS. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. GOOD EVENING. I GIVE HONOR TO GOD AND TO THE LEADERS IN THE CHAMBERS, UH, COMMISSIONER THOMAS COUNTY EXECUTIVE, THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE, UM, I, IT'S, IT IS TRULY AN HONOR TO BE HERE TONIGHT BECAUSE HERITAGE MONTH IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY. AS YOU KNOW. UH, WE HAVE BEEN, UM, AT THE FOREFRONT IN YEARS PAST, AND HERITAGE IS CONNECTING THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND, AND WHICH OF FUTURE. THAT'S WHY HERITAGE IS SO IMPORTANT. UH, WHEN I CAME TO THIS COUNTRY IN 1968, UH, I STARTED BACK IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES, A COMMUNITY CENTER BECAUSE, UH, HAITIANS WERE NOT REPRESENTED. THERE WERE A LOT OF, UH, UM, A LOT OF SHORTFALLS. AND, UM, WE STARTED, YOU KNOW, VERY YOUNG AND GAVE OUR HELP TO THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY. AND SO WHO WE ARE TODAY, YEARS LATER, WE SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING. AND IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO FALL BACK ON OUR, ON OUR HISTORY AS, UH, MS. MATTEL, UH, HEAD PUTTED AS A YOUNG DEMOCRAT. IT GIVES ME GREAT JOY TO SEE THAT THE ENERGY THAT WE HAD INVESTED IN THE PAST IS, IS PRODUCING YOUNG LEADERS LIKE THIS TODAY. SO, I I I TAKE COURAGE BECAUSE WE SEE THE INVESTMENT HAS NOT BEEN WASTED. THAT'S RIGHT. UH, SO I STAND, UH, IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY TO THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO HONOR, UH, HERITAGE MUCH FOR HAITIANS, BECAUSE HAITIANS HAVE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE INDEPENDENT, BUT WE HAVE NOT BEEN FREE. UH, WE'VE BEEN IN, WE'VE BEEN, UH, ENSLAVED, UM, FINANCIALLY, POLITICALLY AND OUR HERITAGE, UH, IF THEY WOULD'VE, UH, WORKED UP TODAY TO SEE THIS, THEY WOULD'VE BEEN DISCOURAGED. SO, I I I, I STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF MY HERITAGE AND I'M GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK HARD WITH THE COMMUNITY HERE IN ESSEX COUNTY. AND I THINK THAT, UH, THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN TIME TO DO THIS, THAT ONLY EMPOWER THE YOUNG PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO FIGHT THE STRUGGLE TO, FOR US TO HAVE A BETTER HAITI [00:25:01] TOMORROW. AND I THINK WE HAVE A RICH HAITIAN COMMUNITY. UM, THE GOD THAT WE SERVE IS A GOD OF DIVERSITY. AND I LOVE GOD BECAUSE IF THIS WAS, IF THIS WAS NOT, IF THERE WAS NOT DIVERSITY, IT WOULD'VE BEEN BORING. BUT THE FACT THAT WE HAVE DIVERSE PEOPLE, GUYANESE, AFRICANS, HAITIANS, JAMAICANS, TRINIDADIANS, ALL COMING TOGETHER TO WORK TOGETHER, UH, IN THIS FABRIC, AND I THINK IT MAKES IT EXCITING FOR US TO BE HERE TODAY IN ESSEX COUNTY. SO I JUST WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT TO RECOGNIZE HAITIANS TODAY. IT MEANS A LOT TO ME WHEN I RECEIVE THE CALL TODAY. I CONSIDER MYSELF, UH, VERY HUMBLE. IT'S AN HONOR TO BE HERE TO CHERISH THIS GREAT DAY FOR HAITIAN COMMUNITY. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR US. UM, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, UM, THE YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY TO TAKE THE HELM, NOT ONLY IN THE JASPER, BUT ALSO IN HAITI. UM, MY, MY, MY, THE REST OF MY LIFE. I DEDICATE TO SEE A CHANGE BEFORE I LEAVE THIS EARTH FOR HAITI. AND I THINK THAT THAT WARRANTS IT. IF THE DIASPORA WERE NOT HERE TO SEND MONEY BACK TO HAITI, THEN THE PEOPLE OF HAITI WOULD'VE STOPPED TO DEATH. SO WE DO SOLICIT YOUR PRAYER AND WE DO SOLICIT YOUR TIME, YOUR TALENT, AND ALSO YOUR TREASURE, YOUR ASSISTANCE TO CONTINUE IN THIS FIGHT. DELANEY HALL MADE MY WIFE CRY WHAT SHE WITNESSED THIS WEEK, BUT WE KNOW THAT IT'S NOT GONNA STAY LIKE THIS. THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND GOD BLESS YOU MR. MOR IN JA. IF YOU COULD JOIN US FOR A PHOTO TOGETHER AND THEN WE'LL HAVE A BIG PHOTO, ALL FOUR OF US. OKAY. THAT WAS POWERFUL. THANK YOU. AND AS YOU SAID, PASTOR, EVEN THE DIFFICULTIES THAT WE ARE ENDURING AS INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE COMMUNITIES TODAY, AS SERIOUS AS THEY ARE, WE KNOW THEY WON'T LAST FOREVER. AND WE HAVE FAITH THAT THEY WON'T. WE'LL WORK TO MAKE SURE. SO THANK YOU. I HAVE TO, OH MY GOD. AND SO JAZZ AFTER THIS. SO YOU'LL TAKE INDIVIDUAL, ALL, EVERYBODY TOGETHER, EVERYBODY KNOWS JOIN. THANK YOU. THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WERE ONE LARGE GROUP, RIGHT? HEY GUYS, , DO YOU REMEMBER? AND ROOM. OH, I THOUGHT THAT WAS YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.