Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 12-31-19

Feature
Arthenia Joyner:
Celebration Planned For 50 Years Of Public Service
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
For 50 years, Arthenia Joyner has built a storied ca- reer and next week, dozens of friends, family, and support- ers will gather to celebrate Joyner’s work in law and politics.
It’s a fitting event for the longtime Tampa resident, whose resume is studded with impressive accomplishments: first Black woman attorney in Hillsborough and Polk Coun- ties. First Black board mem- ber of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. First Black women Senate Minority Leader. Presidential appointee. Aparthied protes- tor. Civil rights demonstrator.
It’s a career that’s been re- warding and purposeful, Joyner said.
“It’s been a hell of a ride,” she said. “You’ve got a re- sponsibility to pay it forward and think of those who come behind you. It’s a hell of a re- sponsibility.”
Joyner’s lifelong fight for civil rights – beginning as a teen with lunch counter sit- ins in both Tampa and Talla- hassee – along with women’s rights and the rights of other marginalized groups deserves commendation, said former state Rep. Ed Narain, a co-
organizer of the event.
He points to her co-spon-
soring legislation to compen- sate the families of deceased children at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys as one of many examples of Joyner’s commitment to right wrongs.
“I think it’s very important that this community cele- brates one of our own,” he said. “This is a woman who is still among us and she de- serves her due.”
Prominent community leaders are scheduled to speak, including former Hills- borough County School Board member, Doreatha Edgecomb and former Tampa mayor, Bob Buck- horn.
Edgecomb, a retired ed- ucator, and Joyner are childhood friends who have cheered each other on throughout their careers.
Joyner’s always exhib- ited excellence in everything she’s done, so her achieve- ments are no surprise, Edge- comb said.
“She was always driven,” she said. “She was a good stu- dent. She was a good leader.”
Buckhorn, who’s known Joyner for 30 years, called Joyner a “warrior” with a “remarkable” career.
“Fifty years of knocking
ARTHENIA JOYNER
down barriers and shattering ceilings and breaking ceilings is outstanding,” he said. “She is a citizen-servant in every sense of the word.”
Joyner said even she stands in awe of how her life and career has unfolded.
“When you first start, you’re young and ambitious and optimistic, but you don’t think about the future,” she said. “You think about start- ing.”
Joyner graduated from the Florida A&M University’s College of Law in 1968. After a short stint as a legal assis- tant with State Rep. Joe Lang Kershaw, in 1969 she sought to practice full-time. But when no law firm would hire her, Joyner gave herself a start. She borrowed $1,000 and set up shop as a solo practitioner.
As Joyner established herself, she encountered
many hardships including “being mistaken for anybody but the lawyer” when she en- tered courtrooms.
“I had to deal with the time I was in,” she said. “It was day by day. I lived in the days when we were separate but unequal.”
But Joyner was unde- terred, thanks to the seed of determination planted in her by her parents, mother, Jean and father, Cotton Club owner, Henry Joyner, and other members of her “vil- lage.”
“I had a strong mother and father,” she said. “I went to segregated schools, but I was loved and taught by strong women. It was in- stilled in us to help others.”
Joyner, a fifth-grader when the Brown v. Board of Education decision rendered “separate but equal” uncon- stitutional, credits Thur- good Marshall’s influence with fueling her fascination with the law.
But her roots in politics began with volunteering on political campaigns. Most no- tably, she was the Florida campaign manager for U. S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm’s historic presidential run. She held similar positions for civil rights activist, Jesse Jack- son in 1984 and 1988.
Joyner also committed herself to leadership roles, in- cluding treasurer and then president of the National Bar Association (the second woman elected to the posi-
tion). She was tapped in 1994 by President Bill Clinton to serve as a member of the U. S. delegation for the World Population Development Conference, Cairo, Egypt, in 1995 to attend the U. N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, and again from 1999 to 2000 on the Federal Aviation Ad- ministration Advisory Coun- cil.
After years on the national platform, in 2000 Joyner sought and won a seat in the Florida Legislature as the 59th District representative. She would serve three terms be- fore moving on in 2006 to the Senate, representing the 18th and the 19th districts. Term- limited in 2016, Joyner re- turned to practicing law full-time and most recently, served on the state’s Consti- tutional Revision Committee.
But will she remain out- side electoral politics? When asked if she desires to return to Tallahassee, Joyner avoids giving a yes or no an- swer.
“I have not decided,” she said.
What has been decided is continuing to work, serve, and enjoy various hobbies, in- cluding keeping up an exten- sive travel schedule.
Knowing that Joyner plans to stay active is good news to Estella Gray, an- other event co-organizer who counts Joyner – a fellow soror of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. – as a mentor.
“Arthenia is the living legend that I thought I’d never meet,” she said. “Every time you sit with her, there’s a new, deeply profound part of history with her.”
The 50th Anniversary Celebration honoring Sen. Arthenia Joyner's career will take place from 5 to 8 p. m. Monday, Jan. 6 at T. Pepin Hospi- tality Centre, 4121 N. 50th St., in Tampa. The event is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP at celebrate- joyner@gmail.com.
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