Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 10-28-16 Online Edition

Local
Mt. Calvary SDA Church Hosts Forum For Community
As a community striving to overcome challenges faced in past years, Mt. Calvary Seventh-Day Adventist Church will be hosting a forum entitled, “Rights and Responsibilities when Deal- ing with Law Enforcement.” The forum will be held on Saturday, October 29th from 5 to 7 p. m. at Mt. Calvary SDA
Church, 4902 N. 40th St., Tampa, 33610.
The intention of the forum is to promote positive relationships with local com- munity law enforcement leaders and gain a better un- derstanding of policing and the law.
The panel includes many well respected community
Commissioners To Give ‘Uncle Tom Road’ A New Name
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
In 1960, Thomas Mur- phy deeded a road to Hillsbor- ough County. Located in then rural Riverview, the road was named, “Uncle Tom.”
However, the term is offen- sive to African Americans be- cause of its link to slavery. Some residents attended the Hillsborough County Commis- sioners meeting last week to voice their concerns. Some res- idents of the area wanted the name to remain while others thought it too offensive to re- main.
Commission Chairman Les Miller, Jr., said, “We had not done anything and I asked our legal staff to see what we could do to change it. There are some people who don’t want it changed, but I spoke with one of the great granddaughters of Thomas Murphy and she said they have no problem changing the name to Uncle Thomas Murphy Road. His great granddaughters were very, very understanding about it. They just wanted to keep the family name in it.
“It will take 60 to 90 days before the change takes place because the new name has to be entered into the 9-1-1 sys-
COMMISSIONER
LES MILLER, JR. Chairman, Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners
tem.”
Commissioner Miller
said this wasn’t the first time the issue came up. “Kathy Castor brought up changing the name when she was a County Commissioner in 2006. But, it went nowhere.”
According to the dictionary, the term “Uncle Tom” is de- fined as the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. The term "Uncle Tom" is also used as a derogatory epithet for an ex- cessively subservient person, particularly when that person perceives their own lower-class status based on race.”
leaders such as: Mark Ober, State Attorney, Major Willie L. Parker, Jr. (Sheriff’s Office), Captain Wayne Bunton (Sheriff’s Office), Attorneys Michael Maddox and Haydee Oropesa.
“This is an opportunity that should not be missed. As we endeavor toward a healthy partnership with our community law enforcement team and an environment of mutual respect and apprecia- tion. We encourage you to
join us and receive answers to the questions you may have regardingAfrican-Americans and the police,” states Gre- gory Currington, coordi- nator of the event.
Dr. Patrick Vincent is the pastor.
STATE ATTORNEY MARK OBER
MAJOR WILLIE L. PARKER, JR.
CAPTAIN WAYNE BUNTON
ATTORNEY MICHAEL MADDUX
ATTORNEY HAYDEE OROPESA
Members of the panel are:
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016