Leaders and members of the state Legislature with ties to Haiti gathered for Haitian Unity Day Monday at the Capitol to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of the Haitian community in New York state.
NYSUT First Vice President J. Philippe Abraham was honored by the group with an Assembly proclamation to celebrate his election as the first Haitian-American and the first higher education member to serve as a statewide officer of the union. President Andy Pallotta joined him at the ceremony.
“I am humbled and honored to be here,” Abraham said. Having attended high school in Brooklyn and earning both of his college degrees from the University at Albany, he said: “I stand before you as a proud product of public education. It opened doors for me and I am here today because of public education.”