In honor of Black History Month, Rep. Ritchie Torres hosted House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for a Feb. 15 fireside chat at the New York Botanical Garden, where a major topic of conversation was the Trump administration’s efforts to “erase” the contributions and culture of Black Americans throughout history.
About 300 constituents packed the room for the rare opportunity to hear directly from Jeffries, a Brooklynite who may be on the brink of history. If the Democrats regain control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections, he could become the first-ever Black Speaker of the House.
In addition to welcoming Jeffries, the event also honored two notable Bronxites: Cheryl Marie Dewitt, executive director of the Williamsbridge Center, who had a decades-long career in early childhood education and Haji Dukuray, a Muslim community advocate from The Gambia who lost multiple family members in the 2022 Twin Parks fire.
In Torres’ opening remarks, he immediately criticized President Trump, specifically the President’s orders to remove exhibits on slavery from a historical site in Philadelphia. A judge recently ordered the exhibit to be restored.
“We will not allow our history to be rewritten. We refuse to be erased,” Torres said.
Jeffries, who is currently serving his seventh term, has the daunting responsibility of leading House Democrats through an unprecedented period of challenges for the party and the nation.
He has faced harsh criticism, even calls to step down, for his handling of the moment, which some have characterized as weak and ineffective. But at the Bronx event, Jeffries made several statements directly challenging the Trump administration and provided a big-picture view of what the current moment means in the country’s history.
In light of Black History Month, Jeffries acknowledged the greats who paved the way for him, including John Lewis, Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel, Jim Clyburn and others whom he said “should inspire us in terms of the path that we all need to take” in advancing justice for all Americans today.
“While Jim Crow may be dead, he’s got some nieces and nephews that are alive and well,” he said.
He and Torres discussed Trump’s “all-out attack” on SNAP recipients, immigrants, people of color and more. “We got a hater in the White House, y’all. I’m in the Bronx, I got to keep it real,” Jeffries said.
Regarding immigration enforcement, he said the country needs “dramatic” changes to the administration’s crackdown. Jeffries called for protecting schools, hospitals and even polling sites from enforcement actions and vowed to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if President Trump does not fire her first.
In a bit of wry humor, Jeffries also recounted the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol building, which occurred during Torres’ first week in office.
At the time, Jeffries was the fifth-ranking Democrat as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. But after hearing the ominous warning — “The mob has breached the Capitol” — Jeffries said he watched as other high-ranking Dems around him were “aggressively removed” to a safe location.
“I’m looking around, waiting for someone to come get me. But they never came,” he said. “I thought to myself — well, it’s a good thing I’m from Brooklyn.”
“You can say the same thing about people from the Bronx,” he added to applause. He also shouted out his Bronx connections during the event, including Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, along with former Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, who were in the audience.
Jeffries said that the complex, 250-year history of the United States has led to a challenging time when “we gotta deal with this guy as President.” However, he said Americans care most about being able to build a good life, with a solid job, housing, healthcare, education and retirement, all of which Jeffries promised to protect.
“The American journey has always been this toggling back and forth between progress and backlash. And Donald Trump, of course, represents backlash in this country,” he said.
“Now, the framers, they didn’t promise us a perfect country, but they did promise us a march towards a more perfect union. And that’s what we have to continue to strive for on this journey.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
