Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 10-23-15 Edition

Features
Citizens Respond About Mayor’s Selections For CRB
Educator Retires After 35 Years Of Service
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
City Council Chair Frank Reddick’s suggestion that the city adopt a Citizens Review Board (CRB) quickly drew the attention of Mayor Bob Buck- horn.
Council Chair Reddick’s
request came as a result of African American bicycle riders being disproportionately cited by Tampa Police officers.
As a result of Council Chair Reddick’s request, Mayor Buckhorn stepped in and said he, and only he, would decide who would sit on the CRB. That was met with opposition from several Council members and citizens from the community.
Efforts were made to reach a compromise with the Mayor on selecting the members of the CRB, and in the end he decided to move forward with his selec- tions, and allow the Council to make their choices.
The Mayor chose Rev. Dr. Bartholomew Banks, Dr. Carolyn Collins, Judge E. J. Salcines, Lincoln Tamayo, and Atty. Robert Shimberg would be his selections, with Bemetra Simmons and Lee Lowry as alternates.
With the Council waiting to make their four selections, some citizens have spoken out on the Mayor’s selections.
Michael Randolph:
“Coming from
Baltimore, I can
tell you that be-
cause we didn’t
have a CRB the
people re-
spected, a lot of things got out of control. I expect the same thing to happen in Tampa, because the people selected by the Mayor don’t reflect the grass roots pop- ulation, and they aren’t a part of the people who have been im- pacted.
“I hope the Mayor and City Council will understand that when there is a social distur- bance or incident, everyone will see just how ineffective these se- lections will be. I respect every- one the Mayor selected, but I don’t think they belong on this CRB. There are no grass root people involved and I pray to God nothing happens.”
James
Ransom: “The
position of the
Tampa Organi-
zation On Black
Affairs (TOBA)
was to support
the position of
the community. What has hap- pened is a decision has been made by the Mayor with people who are important and credible. I think they all would be com- pletely unbiased in their actions, and as a next step, the group needs to get subpoena power.
“We applaud Chair Frank Reddick for responding to the concerns of the community on the bicycle citations. I also think CRA Chair Yolie Capin was sensitive to what the people wanted in the community.
“We took a non-partisan stance and we hope at some point this process will evolve and these selections will have more power. I do think the peo- ple selected by the Mayor repre- sent a cross-section of the community.”
Heem Bais-
den: “I know
Mayor Buck-
horn has been at
odds with the
Council lately,
and has alienated
himself in the
African American community, but his selections are not what we expected or want. I don’t un- derstand how you can call some- thing a Citizens Review Board without grass root citizens being a part of it.
“I think Mayor Buckhorn feels the Council will fill the grass root part of the CRB with their selections. I have nothing personal against any of the peo- ple he selected. I just don’t think this is the place they need to be. I’m also concerned how objec- tive they can be, and will they re- ally reflect the interest of the impacted population? I’m sure this is not what Frank Red- dick had in mind when he sug- gested a CRB be created.”
Joe Robin- son: “I think the Mayor has selected a di- verse group, and I’m waiting to see what the Council will do to balance it out.
“I still think the Department of Justice/Civil Rights Division needs to step in and conduct an investigation into whether or not Civil Rights were violated by the bicycle citations. That should not be a CRB decision. That question needs to be addressed, and I’m still advocating this be done by DOJ and recommenda- tions issued to the Tampa Police Department. I also feel the CRB needs subpoena power.”
David Den-
son: “I don’t
object to the se-
lections the
Mayor has
made. We tried
putting together
groups in East
Tampa to address the concerns of citizens involving incidents with law enforcement officials as far back as 1986.
“We called it the Community Awareness Action Team, and somewhere that has been forgot- ten. I think some of the people the Mayor has selected aren’t qualified to be on this kind of Board. I think these selections reflect the Mayor’s agenda, not the agenda of the community.”
Cynthia
Few: “It doesn’t
matter who has
been selected
when the group
will be power-
less. It all seems
like a smoke
screen to me. I just don’t see how this group will benefit the community.”
“What a joy it has been educating children for 35 wonderful and exciting years,” said Mrs. Jo Ann Eady.
Mrs. Eady’s journey started at Chester A. Moore and Mean Courts, Ft. Pierce, Florida, then Nathan B. Young in Miami Dade County.
In Hillsborough County, Mrs. Eady was an in- structor at Madison Middle School, Hillsborough High School, Robert E. Lee Elementary, Dunbar Elementary, G.E.D. at Orient Road Jail, Williams Elementary, Jennings Middle School, Brandon Al- ternative and North Tampa Alternative.
“If I could start my career all over and begin again, I would not change a thing, because I have found that there is no earthly reward greater than preparing students for a successful life,” said Mrs. Eady.
“I know now without a shadow of a doubt that Jehovah, the true and living God, smiled on me and allowed me to accomplish this monumental goal in m life.”
Mrs. Eady said looking back, she remembers her seventh grade teacher, Mrs. Washington challenging her daily to go beyond the norm.
“She knew that I was a migrant student with a slim chance to none for excelling in school and going to college. But for 180 days, Mrs. Washing- ton started her class each day by sharing her expe- rience while a student at Florida A&M University. She said her experience was so exciting and elec- trifying, and I felt if I didn’t attend FAMU I will not have lived an important part of my life.
“That was an awesome strategy she used to con- nect with me, but that was not the most extraordi- nary thing she did.
“Each day, Mrs. Washington ended her story by standing by my desk. She would circulate the entire room as she shared her experiences, but she would always end the story at my desk. Before she would walk way, she would lean over and whisper
MRS. JO ANN EADY
in my year, ‘Jo Ann, if you want to go to college you can go.’ That motivated me to dream beyond the world of a migrant farmer.”
During her second year of college, Mrs. Eady said her mother passed, and she and her husband divorced.
“I sold all I had and moved to Tampa. Just when I thought I was on my way I was robbed and lost everything. I found myself homeless for three days with no shelter, no food and no one to turn to but God.
“As I stood at the crossroads of my life, a woman I had never seen before pulled up in front of me and offered to take me to lunch. After that, she took me to Metropolitan Ministries.”
Mrs. Eady said the road was not always easy, and she faced many challenges along the way.
On Sunday, October 25th at 10 a. m., Mrs. Eady is inviting teachers, administrators and friends to celebrate with her at New Bethel Progressive Mis- sionary Baptist Church, 3011 East North Bay Street.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-B