Gov. Kathy Hochul and information host Errol Louis engaged in a fireplace chat in honor of Black Historical past Month at Metropolitan School of New York on Feb. 17, 2026.
Photograph by Emily Swanson
To commemorate Black Historical past Month, Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Metropolitan School of New York within the South Bronx for a wide-ranging dialog on the state’s efforts to additional justice, fairness and high quality of life for communities of colour.
Although the fellowship was heat between the various attendees, the event was heavy — not solely due to the challenges dealing with New Yorkers at the moment but in addition due to the loss of life of Rev. Jesse Jackson, which was introduced that day.
On the occasion, Robert B. Brown, president of 100 Black Males Inc. of New York, known as Jackson “one of our soldiers” and led the group in a chant of “Run, Jesse, Run,” a phrase made well-known throughout Jackson’s two presidential campaigns within the Eighties.
Dr. Charles Gibbs, president of the school, remarked on the disparity between the heat of the gathering and the tough actuality simply exterior the doorways.
“While we’re here and enjoying this moment, there’s 200 Black men across the street incarcerated at Horizon Juvenile Center,” he mentioned.
Gibbs mentioned that whereas the neighborhood could be tough, “you keep your head on a swivel” — he remained devoted to persevering with the school’s mission of training and inclusivity within the Bronx.
“We’re here to stay. This is where we are,” he mentioned.
Affordability and alternative
Hochul highlighted her working-class roots in Buffalo that she mentioned impressed her public service and battle for fairness. Her dad and mom and grandparents had been Irish migrant farm employees, home servants and metal employees and her dad and mom lived in a trailer park. She additionally mentioned she misplaced a nephew to a drug overdose after he cycled out and in of incarceration and homeless shelters.
Members of 100 Black Males, Inc. and different neighborhood members listened to Hochul talk about affordability, the Trump administration, working for re-election with Adrienne Adams and extra. Photograph by Emily Swanson
Hochul mentioned these experiences drive her battle for dignified housing, together with possession alternatives, good-paying jobs, reasonably priced childcare and even infrastructure initiatives just like the Gateway Tunnel rail venture, constructed by union laborers.
Louis and Hochul started by discussing the town’s declining Black inhabitants. Although the phenomenon shouldn’t be distinctive to New York Metropolis, 200,000 residents over the past 20 years have left, he mentioned.
The problem comes right down to affordability and alternative, Hochul mentioned.
“Too many people feel they’re trapped in their circumstances, and they just throw caution to the wind and say, ‘I’m getting out of here. I can’t make this work.’”
Childcare, which might price as much as $40,000 per baby yearly, is a significant element of the problem, Hochul mentioned.
She mentioned that she needed to depart the workforce when she first had a baby, on account of an absence of reasonably priced childcare choices — and at the moment, her daughter and grandchild face the identical problem. “In a whole generation, nothing changed.”
The dialog turned a number of occasions to challenges New York residents are dealing with below the Trump administration, together with projected cuts healthcare and SNAP, lack of federal infrastructure funding, immigration enforcement, amongst others.
Louis particularly requested Hochul to handle the safety of the 2026 elections and considerations that polling locations may very well be raided by ICE brokers, making a chilling impact amongst residents and noncitizens alike.
Hochul mentioned native leaders and elections employees have been “laser-focused” on preparations to safeguard the upcoming elections, which have potential to tip the stability in Congress again in Democrats’ favor.
“Even people who have supported [Republicans] know that they’ve gone too far, particularly when it comes to the ICE enforcement,” Hochul mentioned. “This could have a really suppressive effect on our elections, and I think they want that to happen.”
However given the horrors endured by Black leaders to win the precise to vote, letting the Trump administration maintain individuals away from the polls was not an choice, she mentioned.
“The people in this room know the story of the ancestors and those who came before in the civil rights movement and shed blood to secure the right to vote,” Hochul mentioned.
“We sure as hell in New York aren’t gonna let that evaporate. We’re gonna fight hard.”
