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Sindy Jenkins, 49, walked down the stairs of P.S. 73 in Highbridge with a big smile on her face clapping and laughing. She voted for the first time Tuesday.
“My family told me politics is not for us; it is not for us to vote,” Jenkins said.
She said her life had been full of bad choices and poor decisions. Jenkins spent seven years in jail and since her release, in 2004, she says she has worked towards turning her life around. The opportunity to vote, she says, is one she takes seriously.
“It means that even if I made bad choices it doesn’t mean I am a bad person,” Jenkins said. “It means that my voice, my vote, I matter.”
Charlie Powell, a Vietnam veteran, says he arrived bright and early to vote at P.S. 73.
“I couldn’t even sleep,” said Powell. “It’s like Christmas. I had to vote.”
Polling stations around the country were just opening their doors, but Powell is sure his vote for Hillary will help get her into the White House.
“I think there are more sane people in the world than there are insane,” he said.
Powell says this election, like the one before it, is historic.
“A black person ran for president. Everybody can be president,” he said adding “Everyone can be president in America because we’ve got everyone here.”
“I’m a mix,” he said. “I’ve got everything in my family. How are you going to put a fence around America? We need a president that causes people to get along.”
To celebrate, Powell brought Caribbean music on a boombox to the polling station. He rocked along with the beat as he proudly proclaimed, “I got my vote in.”
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— Milana Vinn (@MilanaVinn) November 8, 2016
City Limits is partnering with the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism on covering Election 2016 in the Bronx.
