Curt Stewart, coordinator for the supporters of Mayor Ernest Davis, has issued an open letter to the black clergy of Mount Vernon to push for the $600 million lawsuit calling for a new election to be brought to trial.

In the letter Stewart ask for the clergy to do “what it has historically done in times of community crises.”

The lawsuit, which alleges a federal raid at City Hall disenfranchised voters, is in front of Judge Charles L. Brieant and Stewart is urging the clergy to send a letter to the judge asking him to take the case to trial.

An initial conference hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11 in U.S. District Court in White Plains.

Read the entire letter after the jump.

Dear Members:
In writing you this letter, please afford me, from the outset to make a few points clear: I do not write seeking a favour from you; nor do I write as a scheme to sow seeds of divisiveness in your association. But rather I write as an appeal to the black clergy to do what it has historically done in times of community crises: It has risen to the occasion of identifying the truths in whatever circumstances that might occur, and subsequently, it would premise its positions upon these truths. The most recent November election in Mount Vernon, is calling on the black clergy to once again stand up for the truth.
Surely you know that Supporters of Mayor Davis filed a $600 million federal lawsuit in Federal District Court of White Plains, against Mr. Clinton Young, Ms. Janet Snyder, the FBI and the Justice Department. They alleged that the public raid of Mayor Davis’ office and a litany of other incidents were conspiratorial. They also alleged that the conspirators fraudulently dethroned Mayor Davis, and politically disenfranchised his supporters. The defendants, principally, Mr. Clinton Young, responded, denying that the raid was conspiratorial-asserting that the Supporters of Mayor Davis were wrong to characterize the FBI raid as “racially and politically motivated”; and that the lawsuit was “frivolous,” and the people had spoken by voting for him. Both sides vowed to aggressively fight to defend their positions to the end. So that we may get to the bottom of the case, a trial is necessary, as it will invariably reveal the facts, and the facts will unfold the truth. Since only the truth can bring about an authentic and lasting unity, I am respectfully appealing to the clergy to send a letter to Judge Charles L. Brieant, who will preside over the case- asking of him to take the case to trial. Afford me at this juncture to say, that there are those who would have the Supporters of Mayor Davis to disappear from Mount Vernon’s political landscape-and post-haste. But of course they’re people, who lack vision, conviction, courage and a clear understanding of the need for change, and an understanding of how to effectuate said change. And indeed, they’re devoid of the necessary passion to make the fundamental changes that are required for all the citizens of Mount Vernon. These people who’re attempting to convince Supporters of Mayor Davis to give up the fight, are also preoccupied with how to “hustle” the city out of a few bucks, as opposed to how to structurally, culturally and socially evolve it. That Supporters of Mayor Davis are devoted to building the city for the good of all its citizens, as opposed to a select few, the black bourgeoisie opportunists and the ill-informed black profiteers want them to be gone. But be assured of this: Supporters of Mayor Davis are not going anyplace. While Supporters of Mayor Davis are opting to expose the voting fraud and corruption in the Mount Vernon voting system, and to expose the racial and political motives behind the FBI’s public raid of Mayor Davis’ officeand to point out that the raid caused psychological trauma to untold numbers of black voters, particularly the elderly, the sleek, black, bourgeois opportunists and the black profiteers, want to ignore these vile offencesand to irresponsibly sweep them under the carpetcowardly leaving them there to fester and soarand for the next generation to inherit and wrestle with to eliminate. Of late, Mr. Clinton Young and his agents even have been sowing seeds of defeatism, as a half-baked scheme to encourage Supporters of Mayor Davis to acquiesce and leave the corruption in the voting system alone. They’ve begun to say, “- let it go-and don’t be vindictive- get over it-don’t be a sore loserlet things stay as they are-” I would ask at this point, how can black men and women consciously and conscientiously ignore and leave the voting corruption alone? How can they know that black men schemed and engaged in subterfuge to unseat another black man, but just ”-let it go-”?
How can they know that the FBI, with the press awaiting its arrival, went to City Hall and hoisted empty boxes up out of the mayor’s office, humiliating him and his administration, but ”-don’t be vindictive-? How can they know that the raid upset many African Americans, in all probability traumatized many of them, particularly the elderly, but just ”-get over it-”?
How can they also know that the young men of Mount Vernon, who had brushes with the law, would stay away from the polls upon learning of the FBI raid, but just ”-don’t be a sore loserlet things stay as they are-”? Clearly, these are thoughts of some of our misinformed, sick brothers and sisters. Their ideas are largely warped and jaded; their esteem is extremely low; deep down in the recess of their minds, if not their souls, they fantasize, dream, wish, and desire to be in the white world. They harbour self-hatred and see themselves as inferiors to whites, as they’ve internalized their oppression. All of these abhorrent conditions, are systemic of four hundred years of brutal and unfathomable subjugation.
I might add, that one of the most dangerous tendencies of any oppressed people, is to delusion themselves to believe that they cannot do anything about their plight. Having digested and processed this idea over a period of time, invariably they become habituated to believe that since they cannot do anything about the corruption, in this instance voting corruption, they then cede to become a benefactor of the corruption. The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle so clearly states, that should the leadership of society fail to dispense justice, then the masses will not adhere to it.
Unfortunately, this is the predicament that exists here in the city of Mount Vernon, for the young and old. If its leadership cannot dispense justice during a campaign, but rather engages in clandestine fraud and deception to get elected, then it’s a matter of time before the people do the same, in their quest for the good life. The corruption then becomes cancerous, and if it’s not eradicated, it will in due time, spread throughout every neighbourhood in the city.
This is precisely why Supporters of Mayor Davis have lodged their $600,000,000 dollar lawsuit. They intend to get to the root of the voting corruption and to purge it for once and for all. They feel that they owe this to themselves, their children-and all of the beautiful brothers and sisters, (blacks and whites), who gave up their lives so the Voting Right Act would become a living reality for millions of African Americans, who were still locked in the strong arms of Jim Crows in the deep south region of this nation. In closing, let me say again, that the most immediate step that the clergy can take toward deriving the truth in the case, is to write a letter to Judge Charles L. Brieant, and urge him to conduct a public trial in this case. This request does not require of the clergy to take sides; it merely challenges the clergy to exercise the necessary steps to divulge the facts in the case and as a consequence, the truth. Of course Mr. Clinton Young and his cohorts will vehemently opposed a public trail. They will dig in and fight fiercely and feverishly to resist such, for they know once a trial begins, it’ll be a matter of time before the facts will be revealed and the truth unveiled. When this moment is upon the public, Mr. Clinton Young and his coterie of schemers will then indeed go packing. I have written to you this letter in the spirit of seeking truth in this case, and I trust that you will receive my letter in this same spirit. Dr. Martin King would, were he with you -
“Dare to Struggle; Dare to Win—”
Sincerely, Curt Stewart Coordinator for Supporters of Mayor Davis

WE WORKED
TOO HARD!
WE WAITED TOO LONG!