¡Más Segura!

A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER FROM SUGAR HILL

I grew up in Sugar Hill, Harlem - the son of Lebanese-Armenian and Spanish-Algerian immigrants.

Life wasn't always sweet on the hill. But always, growing up in Sugar Hill was a melting pot - the chatter of a dozen languages, the smells of a dozen cuisines, the energy of people from Harlem, Santo Domingo, Senegal, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, & Yerevan filling the streets, the bodegas, selling wares from their small businesses, cooking in their homes.

Before I ever heard the word solidarity, I knew that community was what we had. The idea that "We Keep Us Safe" wasn't a chant, it was daily life. And even if we did not always have what we needed, we always had each others' backs.

I knew there was more that my community needed, and I knew there was more I could do. So I got involved, first through the Working Families Party, and then through the Democratic Socialists of America. As my engagement deepened, I came to better understand how economic and political corruption were at the root of the problems facing my community, and oppressing people around the world. I came to see why a democratic socialist shift in our society was necessary to secure lasting change and a better future for humanity. I came to see more clearly how the working class could organize and fight back.

In 2024 I launched my race for the 71st Assembly District. I had limited funding, and to be honest, I wasn't even sure how to run a race. But I knew that my community deserved better, and if no one was going to step up, I would.

We ran a strong campaign on an agenda of affordability and community justice. In the end we didn't take victory. But our movement isn't defeated if we get knocked down—only if we don't get back up. This election, we're coming back even stronger to deliver what is needed for the people of the 71st.