BY AMY RUSSO | Amid a political climate filled with anxiety and fear, Lower East Siders have a message of strength for their community: Everyone is welcome here.
The Educational Alliance, a venerable public-service organization, recently launched its “We the People” initiative in response to the spike in hate crimes and hate speech against minority groups throughout the city following the presidential election.
The launch was marked by a mural signing at the Manny Cantor Center on East Broadway last month. The mural, entitled, “We the People,” hangs in the center’s lobby, showcasing the preamble of the Declaration of Independence in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew and Arabic. Following the piece’s unveiling, local residents were invited to leave their signatures beneath the famous lines.
Artists Otis Kriegel and Michael McDevitt were commissioned by the Manny Cantor Center and Educational Alliance to create the mural.
“The goal was to make a piece that felt inclusive of people of all different backgrounds,” Kriegel explained. “We all have a part in creating this nation every day.”
Kriegel and McDevitt have worked together for nearly 18 years under the name “Illegal Art.” Their primary focus has been creating what Kriegel calls “participatory-based public art,” which aims to involve the community, hence the mural’s signatures.
Alan van Capelle, the Educational Alliance’s president and C.E.O., recognizes the new presidential administration will be a challenge, and said he’s ready for it.
“A few people that have hate in their hearts aren’t going to change the character of the East Village or the Lower East Side,” he said. A social-justice advocate, van Capelle started out as a labor contract negotiator and organizer, and has since held a number of significant posts, including deputy comptroller of New York City and member of the New York City Banking Commission. Last year, Mayor de Blasio appointed him to the city’s Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board.
Through the Educational Alliance’s new initiative, van Capelle wants to “reassert the idea that ‘We the People’ is about all of us,” he explained, “that no matter what happens, we’ve got each other’s backs.”
In a partnership with the Mayor’s Office on Immigration Affairs, the alliance also hosted a “Know Your Rights” seminar following the mural’s unveiling. That event included information on immigrant rights and immigrant fraud, plus services provided to immigrants.
Furthering its outreach, the alliance has invited local businesses to participate in its Community Partner Program to promote inclusivity. The program includes storefront signs welcoming patrons in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Hebrew and Chinese, beneath which is written “Everyone is Welcome Here.” Following a soft launch, 20 stores are participating so far.
The project’s inspiration came when an Educational Alliance staff member was the victim of hate speech while talking on the phone in a foreign language. Hate incidents have spiked following the election.
Following President Trump’s threat to cut funding to sanctuary cities that shield illegal immigrants, van Capelle said the alliance was “doubling down.”
“Trump’s insistence that N.Y.P.D. officers become immigration officers makes New York less safe,” he declared. “I stand by Mayor de Blasio’s decision to sue the feds if this administration withholds federal funding from New York.”
