The Caribbean neighborhood in New York Metropolis is grieving the sudden and profound lack of Dr. John Flateau, a distinguished African-American educator, famend for his dedication to public service and celebrated as a cerebral big.
Flateau handed away Saturday morning. His passing was introduced on social media by his household.
Dr. Flateau’s demise has left a deep void, as he was a outstanding determine within the tutorial and political panorama of town.
A revered educator at Medgar Evers School
Dr. Flateau, 73, previously served because the dean of Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers School College of Enterprise and Workplace of Exterior Relations.
His contributions to academia had been substantial, spanning throughout varied roles, together with his long-standing professorship within the Division of Public Administration and his directorship of the Dubois Bunche Heart for Public Coverage, each positioned on the Crown Heights-based Medgar Evers School.
A lifelong learner and neighborhood pillar
Medgar Evers School lauded Dr. Flateau as a lifelong learner who led by instance.
He held a Ph.D. in Political Science, Public Coverage, and American Politics from the Metropolis College of New York (CUNY), together with a number of grasp’s levels in Philosophy in Political Science, Public Administration, and Political Science City Coverage.
It was not simply his tutorial achievements but in addition his dedication to making use of his information that made Dr. Flateau an esteemed pillar of the neighborhood, inspiring each college students and future leaders.
A shared journey with colleague Dr. Clinton Crawford
Dr. Clinton Crawford, a Guyanese-born Professor Emeritus in Artwork at Medgar Evers School, mirrored on their shared journey whereas chatting with the Caribbean Media Company (CMC).
Each educators arrived on the predominantly Black establishment across the identical time, with a major presence of Caribbean college students. Dr. Crawford referred to Dr. Flateau affectionately as “Jay Flat” and highlighted Dr. Flateau’s early dedication to addressing the jail industrial advanced, in addition to his instrumental function in founding the Ralph Bunche DuBois Heart.
Lengthy-standing friendships and mentoring
Lawyer Gregorio Mayers, a Panamanian-born Affiliate Professor at Medgar Evers School, additionally shared his deep friendship with Dr. Flateau with CMC.
Their friendship dates again to 1989 when Mayers was a scholar chief on the establishment.
Dr. Flateau served as a mentor to Mayers, significantly throughout his involvement with the late New York Metropolis Mayor David Dinkins’ election marketing campaign, the place Dr. Flateau performed a pivotal function as a marketing campaign strategist.
Mayers emphasised Dr. Flateau’s imaginative and prescient to empower youthful Black and Latino people within the metropolis’s govt department.
A profound affect on colleagues
Dr. Zulema Blair, the Jamaican-American chair of MEC’s Division of Public Administration, fondly remembered Dr. Flateau as her first supervisor at Medgar Evers School.
In her tribute, she hailed him as a real warrior and legend, acknowledging his vital influence on Black Brooklyn and past.
Tributes from political leaders
Not solely did Dr. Flateau depart a long-lasting impression on the educational neighborhood, however his affect additionally prolonged to the political realm.
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, representing the largely Caribbean eighth Congressional District, described Dr. Flateau as a superb strategist, electoral tactician, scholar, and neighborhood chief.
He credited Dr. Flateau for being a part of a transformative motion in Central Brooklyn in the course of the Nineteen Eighties and Nineteen Nineties that continues to form the neighborhood to this present day.
A devoted public servant
New York Metropolis Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, expressed to CMC his deep unhappiness at Dr. Flateau’s passing.
He hailed Dr. Flateau as a cerebral big and a devoted public servant, emphasizing his contributions to advancing justice and fairness for communities all through New York Metropolis.
Williams acknowledged Dr. Flateau’s function as a commissioner of the NYC Districting Fee, the place he performed an important half in making certain correct illustration of town’s numerous inhabitants.
New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the Haitian-American chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Get together, spoke on behalf of the occasion and the Haitian neighborhood.
She described Dr. Flateau as an ardent neighborhood advocate whose profound public service considerably impacted civil rights. His legacy, she asserted, would endure for generations, and her ideas and prayers had been together with his family members.
