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George Edgecomb And Fred G. Minnis Bar Associations To Commemorate Black History Month
Activist Invites Community To Help Save West Tampa
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Dwight Bolden is a com- munity activist who grew up in West Tampa. And, he has a plan to help bring economic empowerment into the area.
Bolden created the West Tampa Community Activist Organization nearly two years ago. He said he has developed a model and hopes others will adopt it.
He said, “This community is under siege by the city, devel- opers, Tampa Housing Author- ity, and other entities with no historic ties to the area. I be- lieve an entirely new mindset has to be developed to make sure African American busi- nesses remain in West Tampa.
“Once Main Street was a thriving thoroughfare lined with Black-owned businesses. Now, it is a wasteland with only the businesses left that sur- vived the economic shutdown in the area.
“Some new businesses have
DWIGHT BOLDEN
opened, but they are not owned by African Americans.”
Bolden believes the model he developed can fund ex- tended organizations under its umbrella. Some will be for profit and others not-for-profit.
“West Tampa is no different from any of the other African American communities. People are making money, but they are not putting anything back into the community and they don’t offer any job opportunities.
“We have got to get better control of the money being generated in West Tampa. We need to make sure that African Americans are going to benefit from the proposed changes,”
Retired Florida Appellate Judge E. J. Salcines will pro- vide the keynote address
To commemorate Black History Month, the George Edgecomb (GEBA) and the Fred G. Minnis Bar Associa- tions will honor area judges and their founders at WMU- Cooley Law School’s Tampa Bay campus, 9445 Camden Field Pkwy, Riverview, 33576, on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 4 p. m.
The event will also com- memorate GEBA’s 35th an- niversary. Retired State of Florida Appellate Judge Emiliano Jose (E. J.) Sal- cines will provide the keynote. James Tokely, who
he said.
Bolden’s office is lo-
cated at 1609 North Albany Avenue, and he is encourag- ing anyone who would like to learn more about his model to stop by.
E. J. SALCINES Retired State Of Florida Appellate Judge
is the first official poet laureate for both the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County, will de- liver poetry during the event.
Salcines was a career fed- eral and state prosecutor for 22 years and in private prac- tice 13 years before being ap- pointed as judge of the appellate court by Gov. Law- ton Chiles in 1998 and re- tained in 2000.
GEBA is Tampa’s largest predominately African-Amer- ican voluntary bar association. Founded in 1982, in memory of the late Honorable
George E. Edgecomb,
GEBA is dedicated to the pro- motion and recognition of African Americans within the legal profession and the judici- ary.
Named after the first black full-time lawyer in Pinellas County, Florida, the Fred G. Minnis, Sr. Bar Association was founded in 2000 and is the only predominately African-American voluntary bar association in Pinellas.
Following Fred G. Min- nis, Sr.’s pioneering efforts in the legal profession, the Min- nis Bar Association was founded to promote and pro- vide a support system for tal- ented minority lawyers in Pinellas County and to pro- mote justice and education in the surrounding communities.
The event is free, but those interested in attending are en- couraged to RSVP to 813-276- 2338 or email wintcr@fljud13.org.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-B