America’s Open Wound

Changing the Rules, to Change the Players, to Change the Outcome

The Reshaping and the Revival of the Movement

The post - the Jan 6th, 2021- insurrection environment and the mad scramble of congressional election and local maps continue to serve up evidence of an inexorable momentum that appears coordinated at its core to reshape our nation’s future.

One of the three clips of the award-winning episode of American Open Wound documentary <https://vimeo.com/652172014/856859cd23> “Closing the Wealth Gap,” scheduled to the screened, on Saturday, June 4th, at the Eastview Campus, White Plains Middle School, will highlight part of the growing national trend of disenfranchising Black voters as we inch closer to mid-term 2022.

“The fact that Westchester county’s first two Black congressional representatives were forced to consider running against each other after just one term; and now one has decided to run in an entirely new congressional district, is one example of Black voter disenfranchisement--America’s Open Wound,” said Derickson K. Lawrence, executive producer and director of the documentary.

“The irony is New York is considered a “Blue” state - a Democratic stronghold. Meaning, we have a Democratic Governor, and we hold Democratic majorities in the Senate and Assembly, including Black elected leaders in those respective houses,” Lawrence continued.

The objective is to “connect the historical dots” that will hopefully spark a coordinated, long-term, civic engagement “call to action” in local communities across the country. A similar event is scheduled in the nation’s capital-Washington DC- on June 11th. “But this conversation for economic equity and the fight for community and democracy has found an anchor in our own back yard, one of the wealthiest counties in the nation,” concluded Lawrence.

Majority Whip, Representative James Clyburn, one of five panel members featured in the documentary, cautions, “We must learn the lessons of our past.”

Four (4) Westchester panel members will engage in dialogue relative to the foregoing issues and will elevate local ideas for proof-of-concept options to close the wealth gap in Westchester County, amid an environment of rising interest rates.

Assemblyman Gary Pretlow; WP, Councilwoman Nadine Hunt-Robinson; WP/Greenburgh NAACP President, Janice Griffith; Geogory Rhett, Basileus of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity (Omicron Iota Chapter)

The Reshaping and Revival of the Movement - The screening of “Closing the Wealth Gap”

The enent will be held at the Eastview Campus of White Plains Middle School, 350 Main Street - White Plains on Saturday, June 4, 2022, from 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM and is being sponsored by:the local chapters (Beta Alpha Alpha & Omicron Iota) of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.; Pi Iota Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.; and the White Plains/Greenburgh Branch of NAACP.

COVID Protocols will be observed.