Speakers detail the black experience in the eastern suburbs

By David Tyler

African Americans make up about 3 percent of the population of the town of Manlius. On Sunday afternoon, about 300 people had an opportunity to learn about the experience of some of those black residents at an event called Facing Racism, held in Beard Park in Fayetteville.

The event featured 10 speakers, who spoke on various topics ranging from personal experiences with racism to some of the institutional challenges African Americans face in areas such as employment, housing and education.

Leila Abdul-Malak, a recent graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School, was the emcee of the event and her mother, Ynesse Abdul-Malak was one of the speakers.

Ynesse spoke of several experiences as a resident and as a parent. She told how she feared for her son’s safety when he went fishing by himself at a local pond, so she made him wear F-M clothing so that anyone he came into contact with would know that he was from here. She recounted how Leila went into a full-blown panic attack the first time she was stopped by the police after gaining her driver’s license.

“She had seen what happened on the news,” Ynesse said. “She had seen what happened to people who get stopped by the cops.”

Local resident Tony Waddell came to the area through his service in the Air Force.

“Society would like to place me under a label, that says this is why this individual failed,” Waddell said. “I succeeded because I had the support of my grandparents, my spiritual background and teachers who saw my potential and urged it on.”

He spoke of the racism he has experienced related to his interracial marriage and his children’s skin tone.

“I refuse to raise my children in a society that puts them in a box,” Waddell said. “We’re just different shades of the same skin.”

He encouraged everyone to look at each other “through the eyes of a child,” that don’t discern by race.

“The only way to really address this issue is for us to come together as one,” he said.

Several of the speakers touched on ways that white people can help uplift the black community.

Me’Shae Brooks Rolling, a resident of the town of Manlius and president of the Upstate Minority Economic Alliance, told the audience of meeting one of her friends and neighbor, Anne Messenger, and how Anne’s friendship and involvement in various organizations has helped support her as a professional and as a resident.

“The thing about someone like Anne, someone of position, power and influence, is that she breaks bread with us,” Rollings said. “She hangs out with us. She is comfortable with us.”

One of the things that “earnest white people” can do to help reduce racism, Rollings said, is to “include people of color in your social circle,” as Messenger did with her.

Communities formed by institutional racism

“The town of Manlius is not 3 percent black by accident,” said Sally Santangelo, executive director of CNY Fair Housing.

Santangelo gave the audience a brief overview of the history of discriminatory housing practices and how those practices continue to shape the racial makeup of our communities today.

“Everything about the communities we live in was based on racism,” Santangelo said. “By keeping people from buying homes, we kept families from generating generational wealth, and that continues to affect us today.”

The audience also learned about the different challenges some African Americans face going to college and finding jobs. Often simple things like an inability to find transportation keep black youths from attending college, even if they earn scholarships, said Sam Rowser, executive director of OnPoint for College. Black Americans often have to pass up summer internship opportunities where they could gain experience and bolster their resume because they need to find paying jobs during the summer months, Rowser said.

“If we want change, we have to be in it for the long haul,” Rowser said, likening institutional racism to addiction. “The first thing you to do is admit that you have a problem.”

Local officials get involved

Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson stressed that Fayetteville needs to be a place that welcomes people of all races and that will take participation from the whole village.

“I need to listen to all the voices of concern in this community with the goal to help our community do better,” Olson said. “We hold ourselves and encourage you to hold us accountable.”

Olson told of a relative who adopted an African American son who is now living and working in the Albany area.

“He’s been pulled over 20 times for no reason other than the color of his skin,” Olson said. “This person, I know. I love. His family is amazing. This is wrong.”

Town of Manlius Councilor Katelyn Kriesel ended the event by talking of her experience as the single mother of two black children, and provided some insights on what people can do locally to make a difference, starting with voting in every election and advocating for racial justice at the local level.

“Make sure [your elected officials] are evaluating their housing code, their zoning code, and make sure they’re writing a comprehensive plan that is inclusive of everybody whether they’re here already or not,” Kriesel said. “Is Manlius only for white, rich families? Manlius is for everyone.”

“We are building an inclusive community so in a couple years, five years, 10 years, we don’t have to stand on the streets on Fayetteville holding a sign that says Black Lives Matter, but if we were going to no one would yell racial epithets out their car window,” she said.

At its meeting last week, the Manlius Town Board unanimously approved a resolution condemning the killing of George Floyd, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and urging state officials to pass a series of police reforms, all of which were approved by the state legislature last week.

In the discussion that followed the reading of the resolution, Councilor Karen Green commended the Manlius Police Department.

“I want to thank our town of Manlius police department for all they do for all of us, for the lives they’ve saved, and for being such great representatives of the town,” Green said.

“Our police department, while I would argue is one of the most stellar in the community,” Kriesel responded. “But there’s always room for improvement.”