Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 9-25-20

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2020
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Rev. W. G. Dixon’s 89th Virtual Birthday And GOTV Rally Set For October 3rd
Reverend Willie G. Dixon,
Founder and CEO of COACH Foun- dation, Inc., a non-profit that started in 1981 and author of the 6th Edition of a Story to Tell, will turn 89 years of age on October 3, 2020.
This year, due to COVID-19, his birthday celebration will be virtual by Zoom and Facebook. As usual Rev- erend Dixon’s birthday celebration is used to place emphasis on ways to Get Out The Vote (GOTV) on all lev- els, inviting elected officials, candi- dates, community leaders, youths and adults to speak on issues and an- swers that concern our community.
“Voter education and voting is very dear to me because as a young college student, in 1953 the Ten- nessee State Marching Band traveled to Mt. Bayou, Mississippi, an all- Black town to conduct a voter’s edu- cational drive. We were with the late Justice Thurgood Marshall
DR. JILL BIDEN AND REV. WILLIE DIXON at a fundraiser.
when he was an attorney for the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP.
The host of this voter’s rally was the millionaire, plantation owner and civil right activist, Dr. T. R. M. Howard. We were educating people about voting and the power of the vote when Black people were not al- lowed to vote.
“I later read in Jet Magazine, Dr. Howard was shipped out of Missis- sippi in a casket in order to save his life because of his civil right activities and trying to get Black people to reg- ister and vote.”
“After 1965 when Blacks could vote, there were many stumbling blocks or tests to keep us from vot- ing. There was paying a poll tax, ask- ing how many bubbles in a bar of soap, threats of losing your job or life. Sad to say many people did lose their lives because of their attempt to vote.
“As a citizen of this country, the so-called land of the free we still have
problems in getting Black to vote. If voting did not matter, why would some people discourage Black people not to vote? Too many Black people have suffered and died for Black peo- ple not to register and vote.”
Therefore, at the virtual event several candidates, elected officials, pastors, community leaders and oth- ers have been invited to give their reason why Black people should vote and all votes matter. Also, we should know that a no vote is still a vote.
At an event at the home of Sena- tor Janice Cruz before COVID-19, Rev. Dixon was able to meet Dr. Jill Biden as she gave her reasons why we should support and vote for her husband, V. P. Joe Biden.
For additional information and the link to join the Zoom and Face- book, please contact Reverend Dixon at (813) 966-5844 or wdixon2558@aol.com.
Appearance On CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’ Dampened By Ruling In Amendment 4 Case
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Pastor Cliff Tyson will tell “60 Minutes” his story and the story of 1.4 million convicted felons and why they can’t vote.
When Pastor Clifford (Cliff) Tyson sat down with CBS’ Leslie Stahl of “60 Minutes,” he was ex- cited about the planned interview. He was anxious, and had talked about the interview for quite some time.
The CBS crew was in Tampa on August 25, 2020, to interview Tyson, who represented the 1.4 mil- lion former convicted felons who have served their time, but are not able to vote.
“I know some of my statements won’t go well with Gov. (Ron) De- Santis and President (Donald) Trump. I’ll be speaking on racism and suppression and how our ances- tors had to fight for the right to vote and for the rights we should be af- forded right now,” he said.
Part of the interview, he says, is about him being in the same jail and the next one-man cell as Ted
Pastor Clifford Tyson to appear on segment of CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sun- day, Sept. 27, 2020.
Bundy.
Tyson has been traveling around
the country talking about Florida’s Amendment 4 and what it means to those who, even though they’ve served their time, will not be able to vote on November 3, 2020. His name
is one of those on the list of plaintiffs. On Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, a fed- eral appeals court ruled that those who have felony convictions will have to pay all court fees and fines before they’ll be able to vote. The ruling was 6-4 in the U. S. Court of Appeals, 11th
Circuit.
That ruling broke Tyson’s heart.
He was hopeful that it would pass in the favor of former felons who would be able to vote in the 2020 General election. “I was so disappointed to hear that, especially after the inter- view I had with 60 Minutes,” he said.
There are plans to take the case to the Supreme Court, but that will not be in time for the General Election.
Of the decision, Tyson said, “I was very disappointed when the ruling came down from the court. We knew it was a conservative court and three of the justices should have re- cused themselves, because when they got the appointment confirmation they were part of Governor Desan- tis’ board. They promised the Senate that if this case ever came before them, they would recuse themselves; one of the justices did, however two did not.
“Basically, it’s just voter suppres- sion, that Poll Tax, and it’s disheart- ening and discouraging, but we’re going to continue to fight. Right now our option is all the way to the Supreme Court. Hopefully, they will hear the case.
“I’m most disappointed for 85,000 registered returning citizens who can go ahead and vote, if their names are on the roll. If it is proven that they still owe fees then the names will be purged. Florida voted on Amendment 4 and only 85,000 people registered out of over 700,000. That to me is the biggest disappointment. We got the opportu- nity to register to vote, yet we squan- dered the opportunity.”
With CBS’ Senior Journalist Stahl and the camera crew and pro- duction crew that accompanied her for 60 Minutes, Tyson did more than talk about the issue of racism and voting. “I fed them some of my world famous bar-be-cue and prayed for Mrs. Stahl’s husband,” he said.
The segment of “60 Minutes” airs on Sunday, September 27, 2020, 7 p. m., on CBS (Spectrum, Channel 10).