The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Hillary Clinton

A Call for Unity as Bill and Hillary Clinton Swear in New Castle Town Officials

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PHOTOS BY Chad David Kraus
“What has really prepared me is simply the love I have for our town… I’m here tonight to build bridges… Let’s start by reconnecting with each other…”
– Newly Sworn in
New Castle Town Supervisor
Lisa Katz

Despite the challenges wrought from an ongoing pandemic, a 2022 inauguration of New Castle town and county officials still managed to deliver an overriding message asking for unity following a divisive election in town–along with words of admiration and appreciation for the Clintons who presided over the January 12th ceremony at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center.

On ChappPac’s signature purple-lit stage, the ceremony streamed live to those who had registered via a virtual invite. Among those who came in person were proud family members of the officials sworn in, and who, despite the pandemic, also had the opportunity for a meet and greet with the Clintons. In her remarks welcoming the Clintons, Lisa Katz thanked the Clintons “for always making time for your community in ways large and small,” she said. “You can’t possibly know how much our town appreciates you.”

President Bill Clinton swore in Lisa Marlo Spivack Katz as the newly elected Town Supervisor, and Christian Hildenbrand and Tara Kassal as newly elected Town Council members. Secretary Hillary Clinton swore in Vedat Gashi, as a re-elected County Legislator, Noah Sorkin as a re-elected Town Justice and Victoria Bayard Tipp as a newly elected Town Council member.

Remaining on the board until his term expires at the end of 2023 is town council member Jeremy Saland. Saland had served as deputy and acting supervisor until this past December after former town supervisor Ivy Pool resigned, relocating with her family to Chicago.

Gashi expressed gratitude for the role the Clintons played preventing an ethnic cleansing in his hometown of Kosovo–noting landmarks in Kosovo honoring them including a shop named ‘Hillary’ that he said, ‘sits on Bill Clinton Boulevard.’ Bill Clinton responded in his remarks: “One secret to our unity is not to be anti-immigrant… Anytime an election can be made about the people, you’re much more likely to a get a happier country, a more united country.”

As for the local election and the early evening event, Bill Clinton noted: “This is a celebration of Democracy… this is the way that Democracy is supposed to work.”

Vicky Tipp expressed the prevailing unity sentiment. She said she had “a lot of hope and optimism” that the new board might be “a community model to heal divisions,” and one to “foster a climate of inclusion and collaboration.”

The row of masked public officials on stage facing a largely empty auditorium was a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges posed by Covid. For his part, Saland thanked County Executive George Latimer and Deputy Executive Jenkins “for exuding calmness and leadership throughout the pandemic.”

Left to right: Town Councilman Chris Hildenbrand, Town Councilwoman Vicky Tipp, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Town Supervisor Lisa Katz, President Bill Clinton, County Legislator Vedat Gashi and Town Justice Noah Sorkin

County Executive George Latimer introduced Hillary Clinton with his remarks, and later State Senator Peter Harckham introduced Bill Clinton. Statements were made by Assemblyman Chris Burdick, and also by town residents Robert Kirkwood, Zhengxi ( Larry) Liu, and Alexandra Chemtob. Rabbi Aaron Brusso from Congregation Bet Torah officiated with the opening invocation and his own remarks, too.

Latimer, before introducing Hillary Clinton, noted that as Secretary of State, “she had visited every possible place on anyone’s bucket list… that she and the President chose to live in Chappaqua and make this town their home is a statement about Chappaqua.”

Hillary Clinton offered that she “wished to support our local government to make the community the best it can be.” She noted the appropriateness of the event’s location inside ChappPac, which she called “a labor of love” by Lisa Katz.

Harckham applauded the ceremony as a “uniquely American tradition… we come together in unity… We are all vested in your successes,” he said.

Miaoyan (Barbara) Hou, Greeley Class of ’22

Bill Clinton shared that “Hillary and I have lived in Chappaqua together longer than in any other place… and 2 ½ times longer than in the White House.” He expressed fondness for the town, noting the Memorial Day parade, as one example. He called Chappaqua “a rich in history, diverse and wonderful place… America needs more of this–badly.”

Chris Hildenbrand called the Clintons “town treasures” and “part of the fabric of the community” after commending New Castle’s “many volunteers dedicating their precious time to the town” in the spirit of Hillary’s “It Takes a Village.”

Tara Kassal, who was sworn in remotely, stated she was looking forward to sharing her “expertise in the area of sustainable development.”

In closing remarks, Supervisor Katz called the new council members “a dream team transcending party politics… with a shared vision of inclusivity, unity and collaboration.”

Newly sworn in: Victoria Bayard Tipp
Newly sworn in: Christian Hildenbrand
Newly sworn in: Tara Kassal

Chappaqua Library Author Talk with Dorothy Wickenden, Author of The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought For Abolition and Women’s Rights

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March 8 @ 7pm

Dorothy Wickenden Photo by Jayme Grodi

From the executive editor of The New Yorker, comes The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women’s Rights, a riveting, provocative and revelatory history of abolition and women’s rights, told through the story of 3 women–Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward and Martha Wright–in the years before, during and after the Civil War.

“These friends are the examples we need right now–another time of divisiveness and dissension over our nation’s purpose ‘to form a more perfect union.’” –Hillary Rodham Clinton

Ms. Wickenden has offered to visit Scattered Books ahead of the event to sign copies which you can pre-order at  info@scatteredbooks.com

Grace Bennett, publisher and editor, Inside Press, will interview Ms. Wickenden.

Please register at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KJ6nv9HYRVS6VrlH-z2i5Q

A Gutsy Grand Finale

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During a final stop on a book tour promoting “The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience” (Simon and Schuster), Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton–in a discussion moderated by Vanessa Williams–addressed everything from Donald Trump’s impeachment to the role faith plays in their lives to several of the role models their co-authored book  portrays. 

Story/Photos by Grace Bennett

Pleasantville, NY, December 18–Excitement at Pace University was palpable both inside the sprawling Goldstein Fitness sports arena and afterwards too when staff and volunteers from both Pace and the Chappaqua Library (from where the event had been moved following a weather-related cancellation to the library weeks earlier) were all smiles helping attendees, from groups of Pace University students to hundreds of Westchester residents, pick up their copies of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton’s ‘Book of Gutsy Women.’ 

Chelsea Clinton, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vanessa Williams

Before introducing Vanessa Williams to the stage to moderate a discussion with Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, Pace University President Marvin Krislov, noted that Pace has been co-educational since its founding 100 years ago. “We’ve educated many gutsy women of our own,” he noted, mentioning a host of Pace graduates and impressive ‘firsts’ including: Lillian F. Anstie and Charlotte Osann, among the first women to pass the CPA exam in New York;  Florentine Goodrich, appointed first treasurer of the Tennessee Valley Authority; Dr. Susan Merritt, founding dean of Pace’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems; and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins—with two degrees from Pace: the first person of color, and the first woman, to lead a legislative chamber in New York. His final mention, to much applause, was of recent Pace grad Sydney Mesher, “who was born without a left hand, and became the first-ever Radio City Rockette with a visible disability.”

Krislov then invited everyone to welcome Vanessa Williams, “a multi-platinum recording artist… a star of television, film and the Broadway stage, and a lifelong resident of Westchester County.”

Vanessa Williams described The Book of Gutsy Women as Hillary and Chelsea’s portrayal of more than 100 women (103, it was later noted) who have inspired them throughout their lives (Chelsea described the challenge for she and her mom to pare the book down from at least 200 women they had hoped to include).

“They are fascinating profiles and also a playbook for anyone looking for courage… for their own gutsy life,” said Williams. “It is full of personal reflection filled with anecdotes from a mother and a daughter from two different generations but who share a lot in common.”

She introduced Chelsea as “a champion for girls and women, advocacy, writing, and work at the Clinton Foundation, and adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.” She introduced Hillary as “the first woman in U.S. history to history to become a major party’s presidential nominee,” also outlining her key roles in public service, and her roles as “also a wife, mother and proud grandmother.”

After that, reading the audience correctly on the night of historic deliberations, Vanessa Williams launched into a question about the impending impeachment of Donald Trump.

Vanessa Williams: “…What do you think is going to happen to Donald Trump?”

Hillary Clinton: “Well, let’s just jump right in!”

Volunteers and staff at Pace University and the Barnes and Noble Bookstore on Pace’s campus
Representing the Chappaqua Library and Scattered Books of Chappaqua

But first she thanked Pace University, the Chappaqua Library, “Pam (Pamela Thornton), who keeps the Library going”,  Scattered Books, “our local store in Chappaqua,” Barnes and Noble on the Pace campus-and Vanessa Williams: “She’s local, she’s Westchester, she’s Chappaqua… but talk about a gutsy woman!…”

And then it was on to the impeachment proceedings:

Hillary said: “I have to say I thought Nancy Pelosi did a really extraordinary job… of delivering a somber, deliberative debate about whether or not the impeachment clause in our Constitution should be applied to our current president…”

She explained that “way back in 1974, she had been on the staff that investigated President Nixon, and able to watch the debate that took place in the House Judiciary Committee then. One of the members of Congress, in particular, who summed up what was at stake was Barbara Jordan, and she delivered, one of the great speeches of the last 100 years. I remember being taken and moved by the seriousness by all the members of Congress to the point when the Judiciary committee voted and Republican House members had voted for at least one of the articles of impeachment, putting country over party..”

At another juncture, Hillary added that Senator Mitch McConnell will aim for an acquittal but also noted “that many in the polls are in favor of conviction…While I don’t think that’s likely with the current state of affairs at least it shows that the American people have really understood why this is such an important moment in our history.”

Throughout the book tour for The Book of Gutsy Women, Hillary and Chelsea shared memories of the women who had the most profound impact on their lives and life choices. Chelsea referred to Geraldine (Gerry) Ferraro, and her historic nomination as a first woman vice president on a Democrat ticket, and of her mom “taking me to see her…. getting all dressed up… and what a big moment that was.”

The mother/daughter co-authors discussed the big gap in women role models between their generations with Hillary noting that she “didn’t know any women who worked outside the home except for my teachers and librarians. I was constantly looking for other ideas of what women could do.” 

She described her upbringing as a typical post World War II experience in an outside of Chicago ‘hood.  Her mother, Hillary said, was “intent on opening my eyes and expanding my horizons.”

A popular comic book character of the day had made a huge impression on Hillary: Brenda Starr was amazing… she had this flaming red hair, she was an international correspondent who fell in love with the guy with the eye patch. It was so romantic, and exotic.”

Hillary mentioned other larger than life influences, including Anne Frank, Helen Keller… “women i met in the pages of Life magazine…,” she said.  “Not many women were held up as heroic figures in elementary school… maybe Joan of Arc and Queen Elizabeth.”

In stark contrast, she added, “most of Chelsea’s friends mothers worked… an interesting distinction.”

Chelsea referred to her pediatrician, a woman, and hardly the only women in her life who were powerful figures and role models.  “It was an entirely different world for me to grow up in.” 

At one point, Hillary Clinton asked Vanessa Williams, after referring to her as a “pathfinder” and “pioneer” who her own role model was. “Who did you look up to?”

“The support of my parents for sure,” Williams said, noting her mother’s presence (Helen Williams) in the audience too. “She told me you are going to have to do better than everyone else just to be considered equal.  I knew in a white environment, I had to be excellent… as a Girl Scout, in a marching band, choir, theater… I did all those things to be a multi-talented performer to allow me the skill set to achieve things.”

Williams also mentioned ‘trailblazers’ including Lena Horne and Diahann Carroll  “who I had the luxury of working with in my lifetime” and who had “opened the door” for her.

Next it was on to a discussion of the critical influence of faith in both Hillary and Chelsea’s lives.

Hillary: “Having faith that connects me to a larger world is an instrumental part of understanding who I am. It is a source of resilience to know that you can be knocked down, but you can get back up, to know that love is the most powerful force of the universe.”

She noted being lucky that her parents “set high expectations but were there for me unconditionally” and mentioned “ a great minister” who took me to see Martin Luther King, Jr. when i was in junior high school, opening my eyes and my mind in ways that i have never imagined.” Hillary said she linked that to her faith: “how you’re supposed to be, how you’re supposed to treat other people… it became major motivator in my life.”

“A lot of the women in the book are women who have been knocked down, marginalized, who have been criticized, beaten, sometimes brutally for what they believe, terribly assaulted, left to die, exiled, or been in prison. The common characteristic they hung on to is their faith, not just in faith in themselves…”  but more, she elaborated that they “were part of something bigger and greater than themselves…  “they were part of greater sense of possibility and hopefulness.”

“It’s hard to keep going in face of all sorts of challenges unless you can dig deep down and think I really have to do this because it really will help someone else because it really will make a difference.”

Chelsea tied a die-hard optimism she said she teaches her children to her own faith and emphasized that “optimism is a moral choice: you have to make a moral choice to be optimistic… that the forces of darkness I believe are relying on us to become exhausted, less optimistic and to lose our faith.”

“That connects me more to my faith, to my journey and gets my determination going to get up every day to do whatever I can for our world and for our shared community,” Chelsea said.

Both mother and daughter weighed in on the voter registration controversy in Georgia. Chelsea offered: “Stacey Abrams has been so gutsy and extraordinary in how she dealt with her I think illegitimate defeat but also with what she is building through her organization ‘Fair Fight Action’ to help ensure that the right to vote is protected in Georgia. Look at what she is doing and learn from what she’s doing and see if you can support her in Georgia and how to expand it outward and extend it throughout the country.”

The women in the book are not all political figures, but all historical figures who have made a difference, whether social activists, writers, Olympians…or scientists.

 Vanessa Williams asked about including astronaut Sally Rider in Gutsy Women, first commenting: “She started as a tennis player… before she was an astronaut. When asked why she decide to become a scientist, she answered: ‘a bad forehand.’”

Hillary explained that Sally Rider had been one of Chelsea’s heroes growing up, and that the Clintons had sent her to Space Camp as a young girl “because she was fascinated by space and astronauts. That was poignant to me because when President Kennedy had announced the Space program, I had written to Nassau, and asked how I can get to be an astronaut, and they wrote back: ‘Sorry we are not taking girls.’”

Chelsea, for her part, said that during the first time she met Sally Rider (at Space Camp graduation!), she “was so overwhelmed that I tripped over my own feet and fell in front of her… mortified, was 12 or 13, and turned a beet red, but she could not have been nicer to me.” But most importantly, Chelsea noted Riders advocacy for young girls in science, and Rider making efforts throughout her busy career to nurture that.

In the course of a little over an hour, the discussion ran the gamut, from the Howard Stern interview, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and a defense of Title IX and health care. A handful of audience questions were posed including a nine year old boy’s question about their favorite baseball teams. Chelsea: The Eagles (“because marriage requires compromise”), and Hillary: the Yankees (because she’s a New Yorker now).

Grace Bennett, Publisher and Editor of the Inside Press, appreciates gutsy women, too.

 

 

Local Resident & Pop Artist Creates Appealing Bubble Wrap Art Including A Special Piece for Hillary Clinton

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Bubble Art is a form of Modern Pop Art created by injecting acrylic paint into the air-filled pockets of the everyday packing material known as bubble wrap. The plastic bubbles are filled with specific colors in accordance with a pattern, ultimately resulting in the creation of a pixilated image.

Darren Wolfberg, a Chappaqua resident with a well-established career in finance, creates Bubble Art in his spare time. Wolfberg’s art actualizes pop images using generationally relevant subject matter.  He marries the ease of visual simplicity with the complexity of the art’s creation process. The pieces are given modest names such as “The Glasses”, “The Surfer”, “The Flower” and “The Lips”. Over the past few years, he has developed a significant following.

Wolfberg’s interest in art began in childhood. As the son of an interior designer and an acclaimed architect, an awareness of visual beauty was instilled in him as far back as he can remember. In addition, he grew up in Miami, where art deco patterns and vibrant colors were all the rage. Wolfberg formalized his interest in art through his studies at the University of Michigan Stamps School for Art and Design.

Five years ago, when visiting an art gallery in Greenwich Village, Wolfberg was introduced to Bubble Art. The art that was displayed was created in an impressionist format playing off pointillism, an impressionist technique of creating a picture using small dots.  Wolfberg’s interpretation, influenced by Miami’s South Beach of the 1980’s, uses this format to create pieces that are more modern and graphic.

To create his art, Wolfberg has spent a lot of time figuring out, through trial and error, what type of paint should to be used and what type of needles are best to get the paint into the bubbles. “It’s about the art but it’s also about the process; getting the bubbles as full as you can without damaging them” he explains. Each of the designs are carefully planned on a computer. The process requires creativity, patience and a steady hand. “I love seeing the things I visualize in finished form. Having the confidence of taking what you see in your mind, planning and problem solving for it, and seeing it come out in finished form is flat-out rewarding,” remarks Wolfberg.

Wolfberg feels his Bubble Art compliments the style of his generation. “Many customer’s home interiors are neutral gray and also white monotone. However, if you introduce colorful art to this background it allows the art to be exhibited as the focal point. It is a minimalist aesthetic that resonates with a lot of people.”

Recently, Wolfberg has been experimenting with framing. Typically, his art is displayed in a floating or leucite frame. He is now designing pieces with type on the inside of the frame, bringing a layering effect.

“The Hillary”

The excitement and anticipation of the 2016 Presidential election coupled with the influence of the Obama Hope Poster created by Los Angeles based contemporary street artist Shepard Fairey, inspired Wolfberg to create his Bubble Art portrait of Hillary Clinton. The piece served as a unique expression of what it felt like to reside in Chappaqua during this time in political history.

Recently, Wolfberg was given the opportunity to present the portrait to Clinton as a gift. “Are you in the MOMA?” Clinton asked, when Wolfberg gave the piece of art to her. “No” he replied. When she inquired further about the specifics of his career, he explained “I’m in finance.”

Clinton’s question, along with similar inquiries from others, highlight Wolfberg’s current dilemma: is this a hobby or a business? The answer is something he is still figuring out. He has not yet built up enough inventory to create a show; most of his designs are custom orders. Yet, Wolfberg feels compelled to explore the possibilities of where his art takes him and he is excited for what lies ahead.

Visit bubbleart.io for more information about Darren Wolfberg and his Bubble Art.

Empathy and a Moral Compass during Chappaqua’s Lights for Liberty Event

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If the speeches at a Lights for Liberty vigil on July 12 in New Castle–one of some 750 such vigils nationwide–shared any one theme, it would be encouraging empathy; and moreover, it would be the “radical empathy” that Secretary Hillary Clinton described as necessary to continue to fight. 

By Grace Bennett

 “The fact that you feel trauma means you’re still feeling, you’re still showing compassion and boy do we need that right now,” Hillary Clinton said during her surprise visit together with Bill Clinton at the Town gazebo where she joined other speakers invited by the event’s local sponsor, Left of Main Street, a Chappaqua-based, national organization which supports progressive issues, legislation and candidates. 

 “We need radical empathy right now,” said Clinton. “We need to put ourselves into other’s shoes and try to relate to that mother who encountered violence…” 

First to speak, New Castle Councilwoman Ivy Pool extolled the Chappaqua community as a tolerant and welcoming community to all. She also pointed out “the tremendous gap between the good fortune, beauty, and comfort of our lives here in Chappaqua and the inhumane and unjust conditions that children of migrant populations face. 

“Moral Compass” 

“My kids are and continue to be in all decisions that I make–my moral compass… But for an accident of birth that children here were born in Northern Westchester Hospital and not in Central America… I’d like to believe that I would do anything to protect the safety and health of my child, and have the courage to leave behind my family and friends to endure dangerous travel conditions and seek asylum for my family if we were faced with the life-threatening violence and persecution.  

“Most of us have never been so threatened,” said Pool. “We are challenged to respond with empathy, love and generosity.” 

Professor Vanessa Merton, director of the Immigration Justice Center at the Pace University School of Law, said that she “won’t dwell on the lice, the feces, the cruelty and sexual assaults and deprivation of food or decent medical care.” She did drive home the anxiety any parent feels being separated even for the shortest period.  

Professor Vanessa Merton also took questions from those gathered after speaking about immigration justice.

“Do you remember being at the shopping mall or beach, and if you became separated for even five minutes… the abject fear you felt?  These parents or guardians are experiencing that all day, every day, and with constant knowledge that their children are in fact in danger. She described the experience the children are having as ‘stunting’ and ‘soul crippling.’

She also described working with families who risked their lives, “who have given up everything they have because they are fleeing a state sponsored terror in the Honduras and in Guatemala.

 “These are not just war lords. These are transnational criminal syndicates that rule every aspect of people’s lives. Small business owners who tried to pay the taxes imposed wake up to find the body parts of their children scattered around.” 

“Vicarious Trauma” 

Dr. Jeanne Devine, a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialty in neuropsychology, said that stress hormones released during trauma results in lifelong impairment. “There’s a new generation of people that we have harmed.  This isn’t just for today. This is about people we are going to have to help find a way to take care of later on.” She also expressed concern for the mental health among those who resist. We are all experiencing “vicarious trauma,” she posited—”every time you get teary, every time your heart crunches, every time you scroll past something because can’t read one more thing.”  

A Policy “Infused with Cruelty” 

Hillary Clinton said that Lights for Liberty represented a way to come together to address what’s happening at the border, “to do whatever we can to stand up for those who are voiceless. 

Left of Main Street founders Ann Styles Brochstein (right) and Cynthia Gray-Ware Metcalf with Secretary Hillary Clinton

“This is not about open borders; it’s not about saying that anyone who can come to America at any time.  Those who are trying to make it that are deliberately trying to confuse the issue. We can have secure borders and be a humane nation that treats people with dignity and compassion. That should be our goal.”

She further noted that if the administration had a “serious interest in dealing with the challenges of the border, that is what we would be doing.” 

The border situation calls out for more properly trained immigration judges “enforcing the law and not shortcutting it,” said Clinton, who also suggested that we could have a functional data system. “There are literally thousands of children who have been separated and no one in this government knows where they are… I fear greatly they will never be reunited with their families... 

“Think about never seeing your parents and family again because you were deliberately snatched away with no effort to try to track you in this system that has been set up… This is a policy that is infused with cruelty. It is a cruel, unfeeling, unfair, meanspirited policy that is not solving the problem because the problem is deeply imbedded in poorly governed, violent countries on average the most violent in the world, with the highest homicide rate–higher than in some conflict zones.” 

The response of the Trump administration, she said, has been to cut off all aid to those countries.  A better approach, Clinton suggested, would be for the U.S. to help these countries with rule of law, “and frankly to help them with their economic problems too (”a failed coffee crop, a failed banana crop”) so people wouldn’t feel compelled to leave. We do have the capacity to respond to the most complicated problems–if we choose to do so.” 

She recalled that during her time as Secretary of State, there were efforts to establish facilities and hire personnel within the capitals of those countries to try to process asylum “so people wouldn’t have to take the dangerous route north and bring their children with them. She said during one trip to Central America “there were discussions over the kind of assistance we could provide that would try to end the corruption and malfeasance of the existing governments and put into place some programs that would begin to diminish the violence.”  

“We have helped to do that in other places over the last 30 years; we could be doing that right here.” Particularly disturbing targets for deportation have been people serving in the U.S. military, Clinton noted.  “They signed up under a program that they would serve in the military and then be put on a fast track to citizenship. “They have already been deported after combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now their spouses and children being targeted. There’s no justification for this policy.” 

Clinton encouraged those gathered to keep fighting and “reclaiming the values of our country that are under so much stress and attack right now.” Striking a lighter note, she mentioned the stress causing construction on Route 120, the redevelopment project known here as Streetscapes. She joked that she chose Chappaqua’s vigil over others because it was the closest.  She advised that residents take their resilience to that into the political environment.

(L-R): Secretary Hillary Clinton, New Castle Councilwoman Ivy Pool and President Bill Clinton: Greeting Congresswoman Nita Lowey upon arrival.

Helen Harrison, a Chappaqua ESL Teacher, described how some of her students at Greeley have expressed their fears to her. Since 2016, she said she “has spent many days helping different students cope–helping them understand the rules of what their rights are should ICE come knocking…. There are many kinds of people living here (in New Castle), and they are all part of the community; together we will overcome.”  Harrison also led everyone gathered holding candles in singing We Shall Overcome.

Secretary Hillary Clinton & President Bill Clinton with Congresswoman Nita Lowey

Congresswoman Nita Lowey arrived as a final speaker: “You don’t take babies and little ones through such hardship unless you are desperate,” said Lowey who noted that she was planning a trip to the Homestead Immigration Detention Center in Miami where she aimed to be given a full tour “and not just one room.”  “Have you heard of Homestead?” she asked. “That’s where John Kelly runs quite an operation.”  Lowey lamented the situations of the men and women “undergoing so much stress to find a better life for their families and children.” She then ‘spoke’ to Trump: “I do remember, Mr. President, when we had all kinds of glorious plans to help those countries in the northern triangle because there is corruption, there is crime and there are people who can’t take care of their families.  

“When you think of what they go through to come to America and just be part of the American dream… for me as member of Congress, it’s not only painful, but an embarrassment, because we worked so hard to fund a whole range of assistance programs.”

Grace Bennett is founder, publisher and editor of the Inside Press, Inc., since 2003.