Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 3-26-19

Features
Woman Announces Intent To Run For County Commission Seat
Tampa Bay will be seeing a familiar face join the Hills- borough County Commission District 3 race. Sky U. White recently published a Facebook page announcing her entry into the race. The seat is currently held by Commission Chairman Les- ley (Les) Miller, Jr., whose term will ex- pire.
A full-time nurse, maga- zine owner and community organizer, White astonish- ingly earned second place in the highly-contested 2018 local Democratic Primary for her first run.
While White has pub- licly supported other candi- dates (local: Ella Coffee, state: Andrew Gillum), any brief examination at her past platform should lead us to expect a more working- class platform: inclusive transit, expanding affordable
SKY U. WHITE
housing, and climate justice. Though any person may state a more progressive platform, White has a his- tory of activism, specifically in issues of social injustices and more recently in regis- tering newly-restored voters with the Florida Restoration
of Rights Coalition.
Her political promise re-
sulted in her election as
board member of the non- partisan Tampa Bay Tiger Club and the Hillsborough County MPO Citizens Advi- sory Board for Commis- sioner Kimberly Overman.
She is also an active member of the Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus, Hillsborough Young Black Progressives, the Dem- ocratic Progressive Caucus of Tampa Bay and the NAACP, where she was recently ac- knowledged for her passion- ate introductory speech of keynote speaker, Andrew Gillum at February's NAACP Freedom Fund Din- ner.
White is still a commu- nity organizer, despite not winning her 2018 race and is reviving her youth civil rights classes. More will be coming from this young, strong voice in months to come.
42 Years Later, Man Gets To Cast Ballot
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
After 42 years, Clifford Tyson had his first opportu- nity to cast a ballot in a politi- cal election. He was able to vote in the recent City of Tamp Election.
The moment brought tears to his eyes, when he, his wife and grandson entered the doors of the Cyrus Greene Center on Saturday, March 2, 2019. It was a very emotional moment for him.
“I thank God the polls were not crowded. I didn’t know how I might react. When they told me I was eli- gible to vote, I cried like a baby. They were tears of joy, tears of pain, and tears of struggle of our people.”
Tyson was a senior at Florida A&M University in 1978 when he lost his rights. He had been involved in all types of community events, even working on the cam- paign of Reubin Askew while a student.
He doesn’t blame anyone. “It was all my own doing,” he says. He goes on to add, “But I paid my debt to society. I’ve been free since 1983, yet un- able to vote.” His was not a vi- olent crime, yet he could not vote.
Now a minister and on the staff at Greater Mt. Zion AME Church in St. Petersburg under Senior pastor Rev. Clarence. Williams and Bishop A. J. Richardson, Rev. Tyson says the system suppressed his efforts to get his rights restored.
“I applied over and over and over. I called 3-4 times during the year, went to Tal- lahassee from 2007 to 2016. Nobody knew anything about my case and didn’t know when or where I could go for a hearing.”
His children and wife of 14 years, Tonda, continued to encourage him. Even though
REV. CLIFFORD TYSON ...Voted for the first time in 42 years
he couldn’t vote, he encour- aged others to register and get out and vote. He thanks God, Rev. Abraham Brown, his mother, Mrs. Mary Tyson, his father, Rev. Clifford Tyson, Desmond Mead, “who was the champion in this effort for 1.4 million felons;” local activist Connie Burton, his cousin Michelle Williams, “and so many people.”
Rev. Tyson has been li- censed for 25 years to enter 271 prisons throughout the State of Florida, where he speaks to inmates.
When he went to Cyrus Greene Center that Saturday morning, Rev. Tyson took his 4-year-old grandson, Malachi. “I took my grand- son because I wanted him to witness his grandfather doing something that meant so much in life, and hopefully he’ll champion that same cause.”
In conclusion he said, “I’d like to say to the 1.4 million people whose rights were re- stored, we have an obligation to go out and register people. We can’t let those down who fought for us.”
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019