Page 12 - Florida Sentinel 8-18-17

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Madelyn
This week’s Spotlight feature is Madelyn. This young lady comes fully equipped with a level of ma- turity usually not attributed to one so young, and a vision to keep growing until she gets where she wants to be. Madelyn is always the center of atten- tion, and handles it with humbleness and charm. She also enjoys having the light shine on the people around her. Madelyn wants to be a force to be reck- oned with in the future, and promises she will make everyone around her look like a star. Congratula- tions to Madelyn as they week’s Spotlight feature.
County Commissioners Reverse Decision To Remove Confederate Statue
COMMISSIONER LES MILLER, JR.
IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
For several weeks, a Con- federate Statue downtown on County property has been a subject that has divided the County. Many people feel the statue is divisive and should be relocated.
On Wednesday, the Com- missioners once again changed a previous decision to relocate the monument. The vote was 4-2, with Commissioner Al Higginbotham being absent.
Commissioner Les Miller, Jr., said, “The County has flip-flopped again. Now, they have used a backdoor ap- proach to keep the statue where it is and I think it is a slap in the face of the people in Hillsborough County. This de- cision has set Hillsborough County back 50 to 60 years.
“The vote means that at least $150,000 of private funds must be raised in 30 days or it stays. I don’t think the money will be raised in that amount of time.
“Victor Crist made the motion not to have any more taxpayer dollars used on the monument. But, he wanted to spend $500,000 for a mural and Sandy Murman wanted to give $250,000 to the schools for educational train- ing. Stacy White made the motion that if the money is not raised in 30 days, the monu- ment stays,” Commissioner Miller said.
To add insult to injury, the same four Commissioners, Victor Crist, Sandra Mur- man, Ken Hagan, and Stacy White, all who must seek re-election in 2018, voted to nominate David McCallis- ter, Commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Judah P. Benjamin Camp, to represent Northern & South- ern Europe on the County’s Di- versity Advisory Council.
History Of Moving Statue Commissioner Miller first raised the subject of re- moving it, in June. Commis-
BISHOP MICHELLE PATTY
ATTORNEY TOM SCARRITT
sioners Al Higginbotham and Pat Kemp agreed with him.
Commissioners Victor Crist, Sandra Murman, Ken Hagan, and Stacy White voted the motion down. But, on July 19th, the subject was brought up again and passed after Commis- sioner Murman reversed her previous decision. Com- missioner Crist was absent at that meeting. However, he was quoted in the Tampa Bay Times as being in favor of moving the statue.
At the time, Commis- sioner Crist had suggested placing it in one of the city- owned cemeteries. But Mayor Bob Buckhorn had previ- ously condemned keeping the statue and said it would not be welcome on any city property as long as he is mayor.
In addition to Mayor Buckhorn speaking out against it, the Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have also denounced it. Other elected officials have spoken out against it, stating the con- troversy may deter companies and organizations from relo- cating to Hillsborough County.
One high-ranking official in the African Methodist Epis- copal Church has said he will ask that Tampa be eliminated as a location for future conven- tions because of the statue.
And more than 100 people from diverse backgrounds spoke at the July 19th meeting, wanting the statue moved.
Other cities throughout the country have removed statues such as this. Last week in Charlottesville, Virginia, a 20- year-old drove his car into a
group of counter protesters at a white supremacists rally. One woman was killed and at least 19 others injured. Attorney Featured
On Radio Program Bishop Michelle Patty said, “Our hope and prayer is that the businesses will step up to the plate and make dona- tions because this is in their best interest to make this go away. We have 30 days to raise the money. But, this is just an- other obstacle we must over- come. We have had obstacles before and we must just rise to
the occasion.
“We don’t want what hap-
pened in Charlottesville to happen in Tampa.”
On Saturday, Bishop Patty has invited Attorney Tom Scarritt to appear on her radio show, “What’s Re- ally Happening.” The show airs on AM WTMP 1150 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Attorney Scarritt agreed to help raise money to remove the statue. He has established a gofundme page. The web ad- dress for the Tampa Statue Re- location Fund is: https://www.gofundme.com/ HillsboroughCountyStatue.
On Thursday morning, Mayor Bob Buckhorn do- nated $1,000 from his per- sonal account to the Board of County Commissioners to re- move the statue.
Mayor Buckhorn said, “It’s not the city’s obligation, but it is my moral obligation. This monument represents a dark time in America. It’s time for County Commission to stop playing politics with people’s very real emotions and remove this monument immediately.”
CHECK FROM MAYOR BUCKHORN
PAGE 12-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2017