William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His)

Harlem Democratic District Leader, Former National Crisis Director @NationalAction and Alum & Professor @CUNY

[William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His) @WilliamAllenNYC]

To my HERO - my mother ❤️🌹 @ Harlem https://t.co/u12LBgBjua

[William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His) @WilliamAllenNYC]

https://t.co/TVyLQWbAiU

[William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His) @WilliamAllenNYC]

https://t.co/6zi0aQChOA

[Peter Sterne @petersterne]

Read @OsseChi's op-ed on the need to stop deed theft and enact a temporary eviction moratorium to prevent Black families from having their homes stolen: https://t.co/1WNMielt9u

[William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His) @WilliamAllenNYC]

Rep. David Scott, Longtime Georgia Lawmaker, Dies at 80 https://t.co/nkbim3TRfo via @NYTimes

[Moving Harlem Forward @MovingHarlemFwd]

NEW AD: @ConradforHarlem says it’s “BS” to call out his record, but he chose to work for MAGA Florida AG Pam Bondi — the architect of policies that stripped voting rights from 1 in 4 Black Floridians — while she was campaigning for Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton.

Harlem deserves someone who has always gotten it right on civil rights, not someone who abandoned their beliefs to "make it".

[Mariama James 詹 瑪 麗 @MariamaJames13]

Yesterday, I spoke at a rally in Harlem with my good friend, District Leader William Allen and Icon that is Inez Dickens @SpeakerDickens, demanding that AD70 socialist candidate Conrad Blackburn explain his past work in Pam Bondi's office. While she was Florida Attorney General, Bondi fought tooth and nail to defeat 2018 Amendment 4, which restored voting rights to 1.4 million mostly Black and Brown Floridians, even after 65% of voters approved the amendment. It's hard to believe that someone claiming to be a progressive would apply for a position working for a far-right politician like Bondi. Voters deserve the chance to make an informed decision at the ballot box. Unlike Blackburn, I want voters to know my record — from my advocacy for 9/11 survivors and responders to my work on youth and education issues to my service with the PTA, with CB1, and as a District Leader, I’m proud to be an open book as I run for state assembly in AD65.

[William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His) @WilliamAllenNYC]

@Matt_Pinner 10

[Overton @overton_news]

Curtis Sliwa just delivered a takedown for the ages against Andrew Cuomo after Cuomo said; “a vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani.”

“Desperate people do desperate things.”

Sliwa then took a full minute on CNN to eviscerate Cuomo and his entire campaign:

“Here is the DISGRACED governor, who’s like a political zombie come back from the dead, who now can’t get enough Democrats.”

“He was decisively beaten in the Democratic primary by Zohran Mamdani, who, when he first announced nobody really even knew who he was because Andrew Cuomo did not run a campaign.”

“He’s not running a campaign again. He’s been missing ten days on the campaign trail and his whole campaign now is to convince people not to vote for Curtis Sliwa.”

“That would suggest that you don’t have a base to begin with, and you’ll take votes from wherever you can.”

“And that’s the beauty of Democracy, Dana, is that we are going to let the people choose the next mayor, not the billionaires, not the insiders, not the influencers.”

“Cuomo is the choice of the billionaires who have wined, dined and pocket lined him.”

“He has no freedom of thought. He is a prisoner of the billionaires who put him back into the race, when technically, politically, he was dead and buried.”

[Lattina Brown, MPA 🇯🇲🇺🇸 @LattinaBrown]

Reports have surfaced of another confrontation involving Hawk Newsome, this time with Harlem District Leader William Allen and Councilman Yusef Salaam’s mother. Witnesses say Newsome and his sister disrupted an event in front of the Harlem State Office Building, demanding that Councilman Salaam reinvest funds into local organizations and publicly denounce NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy.

What began as a verbal dispute reportedly escalated when Newsome became aggressive and struck William Allen in the face. This level of violence is both dangerous and deeply concerning. Physical assaults have no place in civic discourse. Leaders and activists alike must use their voices — not their hands — to express disagreement. Unfortunately, this incident appears to reflect a troubling pattern of hostility and aggression that cannot be ignored.

[Mariama James 詹 瑪 麗 @MariamaJames13]

I Used to Be "The Left" by Mariama James
I spent years identifying as "The Left." It was a simple, clarifying label that meant I was fundamentally opposed to the status quo, capitalism to an extent, and the perceived compromises of the Democratic Party. But the more I looked at the people fighting for real, material change, and the more I looked at the actual demographics of who holds the moral high ground in that self-proclaimed "Leftist" space, the more the label began to feel hollow and self-serving.

The core of the issue is a fundamental disagreement about the system and the base of the movement.

The Progressive Democrat: Reform, Not Revolution
To be clear, Progressive Democrats are capitalists. We operate within the existing economic framework, but we demand rigorous regulation, comprehensive social safety nets, wealth redistribution through taxation, and an end to systemic discrimination. The goal is a more humane, equitable version of American capitalism, not its abolition.

Crucially, the beating heart of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is overwhelmingly comprised of Black, Latino, Indigenous, and AAPI communities, alongside working-class women and young people. These are people whose lives are immediately and painfully impacted by economic and social inequality. Their political engagement is driven by a deep, pragmatic need for change—housing security, healthcare access, and policing reform. They vote for the policies that offer tangible, life-saving improvements right now.

The Socialist: Abolition, Not Adjustment
Socialists, including Democratic Socialists, start from a different premise: Capitalism itself is the root evil and must be replaced with economic democracy, worker ownership, and socialized production. This is a philosophical, structural position that demands total system replacement.

While this ideological commitment is pure, the political reality is that the most visible, loudest, and most aggressively "pure" corners of the so-called "Left" often reflect a specific demographic: a disproportionately large percentage of white, educated males. For many, this identity allows them the safety and privilege to engage in theoretical "purity politics" without the immediate, existential consequences faced by the marginalized communities who actually form the Democratic Party's base.

The Privilege of Purity
This is where the friction often becomes unbearable. The same marginalized communities who are actively fighting voter suppression, advocating for environmental justice, and leading the charge against police brutality are often dismissed by some self-proclaimed Leftists as "neoliberals" or "compromisers."

When the movement that claims to be fighting for the most oppressed is disproportionately composed of people who benefit from white and male privilege, and when that group prioritizes theoretical purity tests over the pragmatic victories desperately needed by the party’s diverse core, a question must be asked: Whose interests are truly being served? Is it the pursuit of a theoretical utopia, or the concrete relief of marginalized people today?

My home is no longer "The Left" of abstract theory and purity tests. My home is with the Progressive Democrats, the coalition of marginalized people fighting for the only change that is real, tangible, and immediate. We may be capitalists, but we are the ones fighting for survival on the ground, a reality that feels far more meaningful than any revolutionary manifesto written from a position of economic or racial comfort.

[William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His) @WilliamAllenNYC]

https://t.co/VXE5qKM45u

[William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His) @WilliamAllenNYC]

https://t.co/TVyLQWbAiU

[William A. Allen 🧢🗽 (He/Him/His) @WilliamAllenNYC]

@JCColtin Espaillat got a few ambitious followers that don’t want any working relationship between African-Americans and Dominicans. Could you imagine if Wright and Espaillat are encouraged to work together? Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx would be stronger‼️

[New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) @thenyic]

“Where was this concern for black jobs when he was in the White House last time?” Amaha from @AfricansUS makes a strong point, highlighting how we are put against each other instead of coming together.

Let’s remember, we are a welcoming state!

[New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) @thenyic]

@AfricansUS @JumaaneWilliams @FaithinNewYork @WilliamAllenNYC @ICNY @YoungInvincible @VendorPower It’s important we stay united in times where we’re being put against each other✊🏾✊🏽✊🏿

By acknowledging the additional barriers African immigrants face, we can advocate for all of us! @AAFederation

[The Art Of Dialogue @ArtOfDialogue_]

Al Sharpton says he's grossly disgusted over the election results and says that Donald Trump will self-destruct.

[#BDAY20 🐆 @aliensgroove]

PRESIDENT BIDEN YOU HAVE ONE JOB NOW. YOU CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

[Van Jones @VanJones68]

People woke up this morning with a big dream. They are going to wake up tomorrow in a nightmare. But we will find a way through.

[2RawTooReal @2RawTooReal]

We have to accept the results of the election & buckle up for what’s in store