An Opinion by Barbara Ley Toffler
MSNBC presented a four-part documentary, Model America about the shooting of 15-year-old Phillip Pannell, a Black youngster, by a white police officer, Gary Spath in Teaneck NJ 1990. In the final episode, presented Sunday, October 9, Deputy Mayor Elie Y. Katz, up for re-election November 8, angrily explained why he refused to allow Phillip Pannell’s name to appear on the Black Lives Matter Mural on the pavement of a parking lot. The following presents my opinion about his decision.
The North East Teaneck Block Presidents’ Association (NETBPA)’s Council Candidates Forum on Wednesday evening, October 19 was excellent, as usual. But more than that It was an awakening – an awakening to a truth that every voter in Teaneck must recognize:
For the council candidates running under the slogan “Moving Forward Together” (MFT) Latisha Garcia, Elie Y. Katz, Keith Kaplan, Desiree Ramos Reiner (in alphabetical order), their slogan means one thing: MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER AND FORGET THE PAST! WIPE OUT TEANECK’S HISTORY, NEVER REMEMBER!
Incumbent Keith Kaplan reminded us that “this isn’t 1948” as if we should forget whatever went on way back then. But why forget it? Why not remember 1948 as the year in which Teaneck built such a fine municipal government, outstanding for serving its people, that the following year the United States Army chose Teaneck out of 10,000 municipalities in our country to serve as the Model Town to educate the countries occupied following World War II about good government? Why would we want to forget that?
When the question of placing Phillip Pannell’s name on the Black Lives Matter Mural was raised, all four MFT candidates expressed the same thought: “It’s time to forget that admittedly tragic incident and to move forward; that shooting happened over 30 years ago – we must let go of it and move on.”
I am a Jewish woman. I was born at the start of the United States involvement in WWII – 10 days after Pearl Harbor was bombed. It was a frightening time to be Jewish. My 21-year-old uncle who was killed on his first bombing mission over Germany, heard some of his fellow soldiers making antisemitic remarks; my friends’ families couldn’t reach their relatives in Eastern Europe.
The Holocaust was happening.
As I grew up in the ‘40’s, ‘50’s, ‘60’s I saw the many weary-looking people with the blue-tattooed numbers on their inner forearms: Mr. and Mrs. Kessler who ran the laundromat on 2nd Ave., Mr. Friedman who owned the tiny grocery store across the street, so many of my grandma’s friends attending the senior activities at the Teaneck Jewish Community Center. I remember my mother’s terror at the sight of my wearing a Star of David on a delicate gold chain around my neck – a sign of my vulnerability. I promised her I wouldn’t wear it.
Most of all, I remember the pledge of every Jew: NEVER FORGET! NEVER AGAIN! NEVER FORGET! We even hold a Holocaust Remembrance Day to reinforce the memory. In Israel, Yad Vashem means literally, “a memorial and a name.” It is Israel ‘s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.
Yet, Ms. Garcia, DM Katz, C. Kaplan, and Ms. Ramos Reiner would have us forget the killing of 15-year-old Phillip Pannell – itself a symbol of the millions bowed or destroyed by slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, back of the bus, no room at the inn or the swimming pool or the drinking fountain.
WHY?
Is one child’s death, however symbolic, just not as important as 6 million?
The poet John Donne wrote, “Any man’s death diminishes me. Because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
We could chastise them by offering the quote that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it (George Santayana, 1905; Winston Churchill, 1948).
Maybe. But that is not the critical point for the voters of Teaneck. Teaneck, NJ, founded in 1895, has a remarkable history – extraordinary good and grim tragedy. But our history has been – and is – a beacon by which we ourselves and many in our nation rise to find our better selves.
We all learned on Wednesday evening, October 19, 2022, that 4 of our would-be leaders want to banish our greatest hope.
