The Insensitivity of Eric Schneiderman

What You Should Know

By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz

32nd Senatorial District

718-991-3161

The Insensitivity of Eric Schneiderman

You should know that in one of my previous columns I wrote about how elected officials use all kind of tactics to keep their job. Some lie and some use facts, and some have no sensitivity at all. During this election season, among all of those television commercials, you should see the commercials Eric Schneiderman has released trying to brag about how great he is and what a good job he has done as New York’s Attorney General.

In one commercial, he shows a photo of Shirley Huntley, an African American woman who is a former Senate colleague and a friend. We all know that she did something wrong, and that she went to jail and paid her dues to society.

Now Eric Schneiderman is splashing her face all over one of his political commercials. Some wonder whether or not this is even more payback for her not doing his bidding in 2010. Others just see it as the sophisticated and insensitive use of a Black woman’s face in an ad to make a statement, suggesting there are more to follow.

You should know that I remember in 2011 when pro-life people put a billboard a half-mile away from Planned Parenthood to let people know about the staggering abortion rate in New York City where abortion in the Black community outpaces life. The billboard showed a precious Black girl in a pink dress. The ad stated: “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb.”

I remember the outcry by Black leaders demanding for that billboard to be removed because of its insensitivity. But I hear no outcry about what Eric Schneiderman is doing by using the image of a Black woman – an ex-colleague who has already paid her dues – in his political advertisement.

My dear reader, I know how people (especially my colleagues) will not say anything about this even if they share my view because they believe you should not make Eric Schneiderman angry. But for me, what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong.

And because Shirley Huntley has a family and friends and neighbors, and she has already humiliated them, I cannot accept anyone using her humiliation for political reasons, just to get votes.

Ladies and gentlemen, I know what Shirley Huntley did was wrong, and I will keep praying for her and her family, especially now when this overly insensitive act is being done to her by Eric Schneiderman.

This is Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz, and this is what you should know.