Black Women’s Caucus vows to respond to Letitia James indictment

By Ken Valenti

From left: Mike Sacks, Cynthia Ryan, New Castle Town Supervisor Victoria Tipp and MaryAnn Carr. KEN VALENTI PHOTOS

Following the Trump administration’s indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James, the Westchester Black Women’s Political Caucus Greater Bedford Chapter is preparing to fight back.

“We are going to make sure that we have some type of response,” President MaryAnn Carr told more than a dozen other attendees of the chapter’s monthly meeting, held Oct. 11 in the Bedford Hills train station. “We didn’t want to take it lightly (and) sit silently and not speak on this.”

James was indicted Oct. 9 in the Eastern District of Virginia on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a 2020 mortgage she took out to purchase a home in Norfolk, Va. She is accused of falsely claiming the home would be a secondary residence to secure a lower interest rate, charges that she called a “continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.” 

Carr, who is also a former Bedford town supervisor, saw James’s federal prosecution as an expected but “appalling” act of retaliation by President Donald Trump against a rival.

But Trump’s crusade goes deeper than James, Carr said.

“Any black woman that sits with any type of leadership and power, he is trying to eliminate from those positions,” Carr said. “And the only way we know is to work, to be prepared, and to respond. And that’s what we plan to do.”

She mentioned Trump’s firing of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, and his attempts to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Both Hayden and Cook were the first African American women to hold these posts. Trump fired Hayden over diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has made a major target of his second term. He accused Cook of fraud; she has sued to block her dismissal.

To fight back, WBWPC Chapter Vice President Charlotte Ray-Biancone called on people to use the power of the purse, the same way a boycott of Target arose when the retail giant scaled back its DEI initiatives.

“Being conscious of where we’re spending our money is probably the most powerful form of protest that we have right now,” she said.

Carr called on people to ensure that others are registered to vote. Much of the conversation touched on the need to come together and to ensure that younger generations understand the struggles that have taken place so far. Discussion moderator Tinuke Colpa, an educator and Somers resident, brought her two Gen Z daughters to the discussion for the perspective of the generation that is still reaching voting age. Jade Sola, one of the daughters, spoke of the challenges the generation faces in current times.

“Being disillusioned doesn’t mean that we’re standing by letting something happen without trying to do something,” said Sola, also a Somers resident. “I think we need to talk about how we can (gain) hope because that’s what we’re not seeing.”

James’ prosecution followed a social media post from Trump addressed directly to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging her to more aggressively pursue action against his political rivals, naming James, former FBI Director James Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff.

Among the battles between James and Trump was the prosecutor’s civil case against Trump and his companies, winning a fraud judgement, although an appeals court later threw out the penalties. 

James’ charges followed the indictment of another person in Trump’s post: Comey. On Wednesday, the former director pleaded not guilty to charges of making a false statement and obstruction relating to his testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020.

One supporter of James’ prosecution is Rep. Mike Lawler, Republican, District 17, which includes Bedford and other northern Westchester towns. After James was indicted, Lawler posted on X to strike at her with her own social media post about Trump from February 2024: “When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of hardworking people ... There simply cannot be different rules for different people.” Lawler added, “Couldn’t agree more.”

Two Democratic candidates seeking to unseat Lawler next year also attended the WBWPC meeting — Tarrytown Trustee Effie Phillips-Staley and Mike Sacks, a lawyer and former journalist.

Touching on several topics, Sacks sought to assure people that the younger generation is involved, but perhaps online more than on the street.

“One thing that I keep hearing when I go to the individual rallies is, Where are all the young people? I see older folks, retirees, and they think that younger people are disengaged. And I think, no, they’re there. They’re just in a different space,” commented Sacks.

The candidates also talked about how the party’s strategies must adapt. 

“There’s no more time for the old playbook,” Phillips-Staley said. “It failed.”