Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 1-19-18

Local
Name K-8 School For Dr. Carter G. Woodson
Re-Run
On Tuesday January 23, 2018, at 3 p.m. the Hillsbor- ough County School Board should vote to name North Tampa’s K-8 school the Dr. Carter G. Woodson School. While there are many local citizens worthy of honor for their commu- nity service, Dr. Woodson – the Father of Black History – launched an in- ternational movement that still is gaining momentum. This makes his name the best choice for this school: it could attract scholars and speakers on Black history from across the globe.
In 1915, Dr. Woodson,
the second African Ameri- can to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, founded the Asso- ciation for the Study of Negro (now African Ameri- can) Life and History.
In 1926, Dr. Woodson designated the second week in February as Negro His- tory Week, now univer- sally celebrated as Black History Month.
And in 1933, he pub- lished The Miseducation of the Negro, a book that is in libraries and schools all over the world.
Some may say that be- cause Dr. Woodson was not a Hillsborough County resident, the school should not be named for him. But
FRED HEARNS ...Former president of Tampa Bay Chapter of ASALH
just as we universally cele- brate the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we should do the same for Dr. Woodson.
Both Dr. Woodson (in the 1920s) and Dr. King (in the 1960s) visited Tampa and met with African Amer- ican leaders here.
The Tampa Bay Chapter of ASALH, the international organization that Dr. Woodson founded, invites all organizations and indi- viduals in support of re- naming the former Cahoon-Van Buren K-8 School for Dr. Woodson to send an e-mail saying so to: Tiffany.Williams@sdhc.k12. fl.us by January 19th, 2018.
Ask Ms. Williams to forward your e-mail to all school board members:
Chair Sally Harris (Dist. 2), Vice Chair Tamara Shamburger (Dist. 5), Susan Valdez (Dist. 1), Cindy Stewart (Dist. 3), Melissa Shively (Dist. 4), April Griffin (Dist. 6) and Lynn Gray (Dist. 7).
If you can attend the 3 p. m. January 23rd meeting and would like to speak for 2-3 minutes in support of Dr. Woodson’s name being approved, arrive at 901 E. Kennedy Blvd. by 2:30 p. m. and sign up for the public comments section of the meeting agenda. Please wear something red to the meeting.
PAGE 10-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2018