Dr. John Flateau, an African-American professor who was hailed as “a cerebral giant, acclaimed educator, and dedicated public servant,” passed away at the age of 73, and the Caribbean community in New York is in grief.
Flateau, who had served as dean of the Office of External Relations and School of Business at Medgar Evers College (MEC) in Brooklyn, passed away unexpectedly.
- Advertisement -
For many years, he served as the director of the Dubois Bunche Center for Public Policy in Crown Heights, Brooklyn College, and was a professor in the Department of Public Administration.
Guyanese-born Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) was informed by Dr. Clinton Crawford, an Emeritus Professor of Art at MEC, that he and Dr. Flateau enrolled simultaneously at the predominately Black college with many Caribbean students.
“’Jay Flat’, as I called him, had an early compulsion toward addressing the prison industrial complex,” Crawford stated, including “John was also instrumental in the founding of the Ralph Bunche DuBois Center.
Dr. Crawford stated, “John’s passing is definitely a page removed from the physical annals of Medgar Evers College. Fortunately, we have his contribution and works. Another ancestor has taken his place in the illustrious pantheon of MEC greats.”
A “long-standing relationship and friendship” was formed between Flateau and Attorney Gregorio Mayers, an Associate Professor at MEC who was born in Panama and has origins in Jamaica and Barbados, he also revealed to CMC. Mayers was a student leader at MEC in 1989.
“John and I got connected in the late 1980s, while he was working on the (David) Dinkins (late New York City Mayor) election campaign; he was the campaign strategist. He advised and mentored me.”
He continued, “He had a vision to get younger Black and Latino people in the city in the executive branch.”
In the Department of Public Administration at MEC, Dr. Zulema Blair, a Jamaican American chair, stated that Flateau was her first-line manager.
“You are a true warrior. Black Brooklyn, NYC, NYS, and beyond has lost a true legend,” remarked the immigrant’s daughter from Jamaica “you will not be forgotten”.
Representing the predominantly Caribbean 8th Congressional District, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic Minority Leader of the US House of Representatives, stated he was “deeply saddened by the passing of Dr John Flateau, a brilliant strategist, electoral tactician, scholar and community leader.”
He noted, “An important part of a powerful movement led by the late, great Al Vann, Dr Flateau helped to usher in an era of Black political empowerment in Central Brooklyn in the 1980s and 1990s that positively transformed the community and lives on to this day.”
The son of Grenadian immigrants, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams told CMC he was very heartbroken by his passing and described him as “a cerebral giant, acclaimed educator, and dedicated public servant for the city and state of New York.”
He stated, “His long tenure as a professor, administrator, and dean at Medgar Evers helped shape the lives of countless students, and his work in both the city and state government helped advance justice and equity for communities across New York.”
“As a former commissioner of the NYC (New York City) Districting Commission, he helped ensure our districts accurately reflect the population and demographic changes of our city.”
New York City Public Advocate stated, “Without his work, I’m not sure I would be where I am today.”
The leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, a state assemblywoman from New York who is of Haitian-American descent, expressed her shock at the passing of Dr. John Flateau, a passionate community activist whose significant public service elevated Brooklyn.
“Dr. Flateau significantly impacted civil rights,” the Brooklyn lawmaker for the 42nd Assembly District, who is the daughter of immigrants from Haiti, stated. “He will be greatly missed, and his legacy will be felt for generations. We’re praying for his loved ones.”
According to MEC, Dr. Flateau is “a lifelong learner” who “led by example when it came to his students, earning a Ph.D. in Political Science, Public Policy, and American Politics from CUNY (City University of New York), while also obtaining Masters degrees in Philosophy in Political Science, Public Administration and Political Science, Urban Policy.”
“But it was what he did with this education that made Dr Flateau a community pillar — for students or even those looking to run for Congress,” the College remarked.
