By Joseph Ostapiuk | jostapiuk@siadvance.com |
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Dozens of guests flooded into the Nicotra’s Ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn to celebrate the election of Vamba Fofana, the National Executive President, and Varney Sackie, the National Executive Vice President for the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA).
Jennifer Gray-Brumskine, the chair of the board of directors for the Staten Island Liberian Community Association (SILCA), said that the event was “a message to Staten Island that we are part of the fabric of this Island.
“We have over 10 thousand Liberians in Staten Island,” Gray-Brumskine said, “and our status is going to be determined next year,” speaking to the importance of the event’s success.
“We wanted to tell the politicians in Staten Island, and the policy makers in Staten Island, that we can host an event at the Hilton and it can be just as great as any other community on Staten Island.”
The event was hosted amid a looming threat of deportation after the Trump administration’s announcement that it would be winding down the protected status of Liberians in the United States.
Roxanne Mustafa, the co-founder of the Staten Island Women Who March, attended the event, along with other members of Staten Island Women Who March, and illustrated the deep connection between the two organizations.
Click for photo gallery from the occasion
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