Candidate Kassimou needs the people’s support
Municipal Council elections this year in Newark, NJ would field an interesting array of candidates. At least for the first time in the history of one of the nation’s oldest cities, an African immigrant is one of the candidates. Dosso Kassimou is a recent immigrant, a student and an activist. He is also the chairperson of the Mayor’s African Commission and has served in that capacity for quite some time.
In his submission for candidacy, Mr. Kassimou writes, “I want to facilitate the political involvement of recent African immigrants in the City of Newark and New Jersey as a whole. Africans are among the fastest growing communities in Newark but their voices are not being heard and they have not been fully engaged by the powers that be, maybe because of leadership gap. Many people don’t even believe that Africans can vote.”
Mr. Kassimou has essentially been in the business of facilitating the political involvement of recent African immigrants in the City of Newark. His leadership of the city’s African Commission has seen the emergence of a potentially powerful African bloc in the city. He could indeed be credited with the development, but as he says, a lot more needs to be done. There is a lot of Africans in the city who have conveniently shielded themselves from the political process. Some have obtained their citizenship, enjoying the benefits that go with it but have not even thought about registering to vote because they belong to those who do not believe that they can vote because of who they are. We have stayed on the fence for far too long and Dosso is showing us that we belong here too.
Dosso’s candidacy is a call to action to all of us to be part of the process. He deserves the honor of being recognized as our candidate and Amandla appeals to the African community in the city of Newark to give their mandate to the Rutgers University PhD candidate.
But Mr. Kassimou is not all about Africans. He is a fighter for social justice. He has championed the cause of the city’s youth and continues to be their advocate. He understands the youth because he is a young man who had to struggle to attain his present status. He works hard as a student and knows what it means to have a dream. The African in him draws him to the senior citizens in the city who have also benefited from his advocacy. As a recent immigrant Dosso has come a long way to become a politician in a major city in the United States. In a poignant observation one remarkable councilwoman in the city once described him as someone who could be mayor of Newark.
Amandla endorses Mr. Kassimou not only as a friend but as a committed advocate for the good of all Newarkers. He loves his African constituency as he does his Newark family. He has worked for his African base as he has worked for Newark. Relentlessly and focused he has not deviated from his avowed objective of bringing Africans and the under-represented and the underserved in the city to the decision-making round table. He is a shining example to all Africans who believe they do not count.
Our endorsement of Dosso is a call to all who believe in justice to vote this young man to the position of councilman-at-large. We believe in him and enjoin you to do same.
Vote for Dosso Kassimou.
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