Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 1-13-17 Edition

Features
Home Invasion Victim And Wife Die 13 Days Apart
The TOBA Breakfast: A Celebration Honoring Dr. King For 37 Years
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Two families are struggling with losing loved ones 13 days apart. A Tampa man died on December 28th and his wife died on January 10th.
Mackelle Lemon Bur- nett, 41, died after being shot during a home invasion on December 28th, at his Tem- ple Terrace Apartment. The case was investigated by the Temple Terrace Police De- partment.
Two young men, Parish Devante Jordan and Leroy Monsalvatge, both 24, were taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder.
According to the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a 9-1- 1 call Monday, at 12501 Tins- ley Circle Monday, January 10th, at 6:28 a.m. When they arrived at the apartment complex they discovered that a 38-year-old woman was un- responsive. She had been dis- covered by a family member.
The Hillsborough County Fire Department responded
MACKELLE LEMON BURNETT AND WIFE, TEMEKA LATRICE BURNETT (Photo taken from Facebook Page)
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Before dawn on Monday morning, hundreds of people from throughout the area will pour into the Hilton Hotel in downtown Tampa for the 37th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Leadership Breakfast.
They’ll gather to fellowship over eggs and coffee, hear a message from a noteworthy speaker, and celebrate the legacy of the man whose name adorns the event.
It’s a tradition that was born more than 30 years ago from a desire to increase African Amer- ican representation in public service, high levels of business, and social settings, said break- fast chairman, James Ran- som.
When the Tampa Organiza- tion of Black Affairs – which hosts the breakfast – was founded in 1979, the dearth of African Americans in those spaces was astounding, says Ransom.
“There were no Blacks on cor- porate boards, no Blacks advis- ing minority enterprise,” he said. “You could not go to play at Palm Ceia.”
David McQuay, a CPA, and attorneys Robert Morrison and Delano Stewart set out to change that when they founded TOBA, Ransom said.
For more than three decades, the planning of the breakfast and other TOBA-related events
has served as a launching pad for a number of the city’s Black professionals to springboard them into other sectors of the community at large, Ransom said.
“The whole intent was to de- velop young professionals,” he said. “We are pushing them to go do great things in the com- munity.”
The breakfast also has served as a conduit for mainstream businesses and organizations to connect to the Black community as it attracts many political, business, and religious leaders, Ransom said.
The breakfast also has served as the starting point for move- ments, coalitions, and partner- ships that have formed over the years, he said.
“When you have unity, you can do things, because there are people of goodwill of every race,” he said. “We are proud to say we have been here for all these years.”
IfYouGo: The37thAnnual Martin Luther King, Jr., Lead- ership Breakfast will start at 6:45 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at the Hilton Hotel, 211 N. Tampa St., in downtown Tampa. This year’s guest speaker is Rev. Otis Moss, Jr., former pastor of Cleve- land’s Olivet Institutional Bap- tist Church and a close friend of King and his father, Martin Luther King, Sr. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased on- line at www.tobanetwork.org
to the apartment and admin- istered first aid to no avail. She was identified as Mrs. Temeka Latrice Burnett.
Mrs. Burnett was trans- ported to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office. The Medical Exam- iner will determine the cause of death.
A Facebook post from Lejuene Jackson said, “My mother passed away this morning to be with her hus- band, the man she loved more than anything else in this world. Temeka Bur- nett I love you with all my
heart. Mackelle Burnett I love you with all my heart. I promise to take care and love your children as if they were my own because they are my siblings.”
The couple left behind two small children.
The Sentinel learned that the Burnetts coached the Tampa Park Titans Football Team beginning in 2013. His wife coached the cheerlead- ers. They remained with the organization until 2014.
Funeral services for Mr. and Mrs. Burnett were in- complete at press time.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-A