William Thompson welcomes ‘freshest crop’ of Americans on MLK holiday The Dream in Practice G By AUSTIN FENNER


et involved! That was the message New York City mayoral hopeful William


C. Thompson delivered to 160 new U.S. citizens who ushered in their


REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK


own American Dream to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. They literally came from all over the globe. Here is a partial sample: five Albanians, eight Jamaicans, two Russians, two Israelis, 17 from the People’s Republic of China, two Italians, two Germans and a resounding 52 who were born in the Dominican Republic. The men and women hailed from 48 different countries.


Smiles and cheers filled the state- ly auditorium of the New York Historical Society on Manhattan’s Upper West Side as the immigrants raised their right hands to take the oath of allegiance to the United States of America. By the end of the morning they all shared one dream and pledged to have a common real-


(Left): NYC Mayoral hopeful William C. Thompson delivers keynote speech at a special naturalization ceremony honoring Martin Luther King Jr. (L-r): Army Lt. Maurisha Dash; Thompson; Private Second Class Jose Javier; Jean Ashton, executive vice president of the New York Historical Society; and Andrea Quarantillo, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services New York district director.


(Right): New citizens celebrate after taking the Oath of Allegiance at the ceremony.


ity as the freshest crop of new Americans. Marie Togo, who hails from Gabon in Central Africa, took the dip into the red, white and blue two years ago. The excitement of Barack Obama’s becoming U.S. president propelled Togo to become a citizen, so she could vote in the


next election. Togo, who lives in Harlem with


her family, wasn’t satisfied with making her leap into the red, white and blue alone. So she walked her brother-in-law, Bidemi Fasoye, 42, through the arduous application process of citizenship.


“I pushed him to become a citi-


zen,” said Togo, who spoke on behalf of her media-shy family member. “It’s very important to vote. Obama needs people to vote for him. I choose to become a citi- zen to make my voice count.” Togo pointed her camera at her


brother-in-law and advised him continued on page 31


Thompson urged the new citizens to take ownership of their neighborhoods. ‘Part of being American is to be involved ... that’s part of the dream.’


JEWISH TRIBUNE • JANUARY 20-26, 2012


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Photos: Austin Fenner


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