Curran Mandating Anti-Bias Training For All Nassau Employees

MANHASSET, NY — While commemorating Juneteenth in front of the Lakeville AME Zion Church, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced that anti-bias training would become mandatory for all county employees, and also said how she would honor one of the county's Black heroes.

Lakeview African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is 200 years old, and is the oldest Black church on Long Island. Founded in 1820, it has a long history, and served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

"Today, we are the voice of the silenced, the voice of our history, and the voice of our destiny," said Rev. Keith Harris, the pastor and presiding elder of the church. "We heard their voices, and yet we continue to hear the voices of our ancestors who lay in this cemetery. We hear the voice of Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Abery and George Floyd saying 'I can't breathe.' So it's incumbent upon all of us to help them get some air so they can breathe."

Juneteenth is a holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in America. It is not the day that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, but rather the day that the last slaves were freed, which occurred in Galveston, Texas.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo just declared the day a state holiday, joining 46 other states in recognizing the day.

In the spirit of the day, Curran announced that the county would be mandating that all non-sworn employees undergo anti-bias training. It had previously been optional for them. All sworn county employees were already required to undergo the training.

In addition, Curran announced a plan to rename the portion of Charles Lindbergh Boulevard that runs in front of the Cradle of Aviation Museum to William M. Wheeler Way.

Wheeler was a longtime Hempstead resident who served as one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black pilots allowed to fight in the war. Wheeler died in 2011 at the age of 87.