Making our Own Table in Long Island Politics

Catherine St. Hilaire

I was lucky enough to be able to interview two Black, female, Long Island politicians who were nice enough to sit down and talk about their experiences working with and serving the people of Long Island, New York: Assemblywoman Kimberley Jean-Pierre who services Assembly District 11 in Suffolk County and Legislator Siela Bynoe who services District 2 in Nassau County.
In this podcast, I dive into the experiences of both Legislator Bynoe and Assemblywoman Jean-Pierre from their childhood to now. Assemblywoman Jean-Pierre shared the issues that she faced as she assumed a seat that was previously white, older, and male. She shares what it feels like to be seen as a staffer rather than as Assemblywoman and describes an issue that many black women face in regards to how people react to changing our hair. Legislator Bynoe provided some insight into a study that she co-sponsored within the Legislature that would change how police officers in her country respond to mental health calls directed to the 911 line. We discussed why the subject of mental health is so important to her and her community and the nature of the movement to disarm CUPD at Cornell.  

In addition, we spoke about the big issues that they found to be facing black women on Long Island today and the roles that politics plays in fixing those issues. We shared a lot of the same opinions in terms of black female politicians whom they look up to, Vice President Elect Kamala Harris made both the Legislator’s and Assemblywoman’s lists. 

Speaking with these wonderful black female politicians was truly inspiring as they shared their stories and their advice for young, black, women looking to enter the political sphere. For anyone who is looking to enter that sector, I feel that their words can be a wonderful place to start. I am thankful for the opportunity to speak with both of them and found their opinions to be really salient. It was comforting, as someone from Long Island, to see such amazing women who look like me making a difference in local politics.

My biggest takeaway from this class and from my podcast is the necessity for black women to get involved and assume political positions on all levels both national and local. A quote that I took away from both the Assemblywoman and the Legislator is this idea of making our own tables rather than trying to find a seat at somebody else’s, I feel that in all the women we have studied in class this is a common theme. From women like Winnie Mandela who made her own political platform for herself outside of Nelson Mandela’ wife, to the Brazilian women who risked their lives to stand up and advocate for their communities, these women have been making their own tables and in each case people follow them. Both this class and this podcast have been extremely insightful and empowering as a young black woman. Courses and projects like this are essential to starting a conversation around the role that black women need to play in politics as we move forward. 

Bibliography

Hofstra University Library. “Black History on Long Island.” Hofstra University, https://www.hofstra.edu/library/libspc/libspc_lisi_blackhistory.html.

Jones, Bart. “Long Island civil rights activists from 1960s look back — and ahead.” Newsday, https://www.newsday.com/long-island/civil-rights-core-naacp-sncc-1.41294622.

“Long Island Population 2020.” World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/regions/long-island-population.

“Nassau County, New York.” District 2–Siela Bynoe, https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/516/District-2—Siela-A-Bynoe.

“NY Assembly.” Kimberley Jean-Pierre, https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Kimberly-Jean.

“The Region.” Long Island Regional Planning Council, https://lirpc.org/resources/the-region/#:~:text=The%20population%20of%20Nassau%20County,.

Winslow, Olivia. “DIVIDING LINES, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE.” Newsday, https://projects.newsday.com/long-island/segregation-real-estate-history/.