'We are one' — Words are just as true today

We are in a time when the print media is in a life-or-death struggle for survival, and the press is under unprecedented attacks from a president who apparently doesn’t believe in one of our most cherished rights, the freedom of the press.

It should not be lost on any of us what took place here in our community 30 years ago: The firebombing of The Riverdale Press.

It’s only natural for an elected official or for anyone involved in politics to find the media really annoying at times. Many times over the years, I found myself infuriated by editorials or articles in The Press. But I supposed if I had always loved everything that was written, then the paper probably would not have been doing its job.

I remember to this day the editorial that criticized the chain stores which removed the Salman Rushdie novel, “The Satanic Verses,” from their shelves, while our beloved local bookstore, Paperbacks Plus — to their credit — still carried it. Was that the reason for what could only be characterized as a terrorist attack against The Press the next week?

While the attack on The Riverdale Press was one of the most horrible things ever to happen in our community, the aftermath was truly amazing. The attack took place on a Tuesday morning. The Press hit the stands on Wednesday. Publishers Bernard and Richard Stein promised the paper would be on the stands the next day, and it was.

It seemed that every political and community leader was on the scene that day at The Press office at 6155 Broadway, not only to see what happened, but more importantly, to show solidarity with The Riverdale Press, that very newspaper, which at times criticized many of the people there.

I will never forget it. I had never seen anything like that. But I also saw our community come together. Standing up for that most basic tenet of our democracy, freedom of the press, is something that united everyone in those days, if not today.

When we hear thousands of people at Trump rallies chanting against CNN and other media outlets at the urging of Trump, it’s a chilling reminder of things that happened in other places decades ago.

But for that moment in 1989, our community stood as one. I was the Male Democratic District Leader at the time. Our Female Democratic District Leader, Judith McGowan, and I sponsored a resolution, which was passed by the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, which condemned several bookstore chains for their refusal to sell “The Satanic Verses.”

In part, the resolution stated, “Capitulating to book burners and religious fanatics represents a threat to our freedoms and can only encourage similar actions in the future.” How prescient!

Four community leaders, including myself, organized The Ad Hoc Community Committee in Support of The Riverdale Press, and placed an ad in The Press in response to the attack. More than 120 people and more than five dozen community organizations, religious institutions and businesses signed and contributed to a two-page centerfold which appeared two weeks later.

At the top of the ad, in a very large font, were the words, “We are one …”

“The Riverdale Press is more than a neighborhood institution — it is a neighborhood treasure that has served our community for nearly four decades and that weaves the fabric of our community together,” the ad read. “We join in solidarity with The Riverdale Press in standing up for the values in which we believe: Freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

“We will not let anyone take away those freedoms. While some of us may disagree from time to time on some issues, on this we stand as one. The Riverdale Press and our community are stronger than ever.”

Those words are truer today than when we wrote them 30 years ago.

The author is the Assembly representative for the 81st District, which includes Riverdale, Kingsbridge Heights, Marble Hill, Norwood, Woodlawn and Wakefield.