Ruben Diaz Takes it to Street at Bronx Morrison St Festival

New York State Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr, left, and his dad, New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr, right, rocked, rolled, souled and salsaed the Bronx this past weekend. It was the annual Morrison Street Festival and the Diaz's know how to throw a street party. There were two stages at each end of the street; one Hip Hop and the other for Latino/Hispanic/Puerto Rican entertainment. Diaz, Jr. was MC for the Hip Hop stage and his dad handled the Latin stage. Morrison Street between Westchester and Watson was packed and there was a boxing ring for young amateur boxers in the middle of the street. AAEA had a very unique information table thanks to assistance from the New York Police Department and two cut tree trunks that happened to be nearby. NYPD allowed us to use three crowd barriers to build our table. AAEA signed up new members and shared local and national environmental information with attendees.

The Hip Hop stage entertainment included old-school rap originator Kurtis Blow and the Sugar Hill Gang. Two other young acts included Remy Marten and Neyo. Neyo is more of a singer and really got the crowd excited. The food was incredible. The atmosphere was culturally inspirational. Families with small children were everywhere. Kids were playing basketball and softball between the Morrison Street Festival and the Bruckner Expressway. The newspapers should cover these events because it shows the best in community culture. It reminded us of the Malcolm X Day Festivals organized in Anacostia Park in Washington, DC by founding AAEA Board Chairman Charles Stephenson.

Ruben Diaz is an environmental justice champion for New York. He has sponsored environmental justice workshops in Albany and AAEA has been happy to participate in his events.