Local Power Broker for Borough President traveled to D.C. on Day of Capitol Insurrection by Jacqueline Caruso & Sean Ghazala

Leticia Remauro, a GOP candidate for Staten Island Borough President with a history of racist remarks, was among a busload of Islanders who traveled to Washington D.C. on January 6. In screenshots from a now-deleted Facebook Live video, Remauro – a 30-year power broker in the borough – broadcast herself f...

Trump is Gone, Fascist Trends are Not by Sean Ghazala

'Trumpism' is only the most recent name for far-right, authoritarian,  ultranationalist movements that first came to prominence a century ago,  during economic hardships triggered by the Great Depression. Countering  fascism, however, remains just as important now that Trump has left  office.

The rise of fascist tendencies in our nation should shock all, but ...

MLK Tried to Tell Us by Danny O.Z.E

While it is true that King championed nonviolent, direct action, and  that his methods required great character, solidarity, and composure,  Americans have, instead, reduced his legacy to one of compromise. King,  however, was not compromising at all.

Today we commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Ironically, or maybe not, MLK Day was signed into law by Ronald ...

How This New App Can Teach You About Forgotten Histories by Chad Small

The virtual Staten Island African American Heritage Tour brings Staten Island’s Black History right to your fingertips.

This year’s police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd reignited a national conversation about Black people’s place in America and in its history. In Staten  Island, this summer’s activism exposed residents to the bor...

North Shore Communities Unite to Provide Holiday Cheer by Valeriana Dema

Local organizations team up to better serve their communities through a series of toy drive giveaways.

Nine-year old Zayquan Davis had a feeling he was going to win big at  Park Hill’s Winter Wonderland Toy Drive Giveaway. Before arriving, he  told his mother that he thought he would win a TV. Sure enough, his  raffle number was called.

“I was s...

A Collective Demand for Pandemic Relief by Sean Ghazala

A coalition of Staten Island groups including La Colmena, the Pride Center of Staten Island, and CWA Local 1102 launched a campaign Friday, December 11, to demand collective economic security through federal COVID-19 relief. The letter calling for “the swift passage of a comprehensive COVID relief bill before the end of the year,” comes as cases are surging locally, and the Is...

Sandy Ground and the Continued Gentrification of Staten Island's Communities of Color by Chad Small

On August 1, a relatively new Young Leaders of Staten Island (YLSI) led the first annual “Path of Liberation” march along Staten Island’s former Underground Railroad route, beginning at the often forgotten Sandy Ground Settlement.

“Sandy  Ground is the oldest continuously inhabited free black settlement in  the United ...

“Where is the outcry?”: Staten Island’s Deafening Silence on Forced Sterilizations by Alia Danilo

On September 14, 2020 whistleblower Dawn Wooten, a former nurse at Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC), a Georgia ICE facility, reported that a doctor at the facility has been performing forced sterilizations on detained migrants, specifically removing all or parts of people’s uteruses. The disturbing reports of non-consensual sterili...

'Privilege' and Representation at Staten Island High Schools by Valeriana Dema

New Dorp Assistant Principal Deborah Morse-Cunningham received national news coverage in June after sharing a racist and classist post on her Facebook page. Although not explicitly referring to race, the post shared by Morse-Cunningham invokes welfare stereotypes that have been historically directed towards Black people. Nearly 35,000 people have signed ...

Greetings by Michael R. O'Brien

Plea for the Fifth aims to empower Staten Islanders by providing a new media platform for our borough. There are many stories that often do not get the coverage they deserve, and we are here to change that. We will broaden the kind of coverage Staten Island typically receives by including and uplifting voices that are frequently unheard.

Unlike what our name may suggest, we are not using our 5th Amen...