Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 9-18-20

Editorial
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Local
Faith Community Urges Hillsborough Board Of County Commissioners To Name Racism As A Public Health Crisis
The Commission was scheduled to vote on a resolu- tion regarding racism at its meeting on Wednesday, Sep- tember 16th at 9 a. m.
A coalition of faith leaders, health professionals, and members of the community overwhelmingly agree that racism is a public health crisis. Collectively, the community calls on the Hillsborough County Commission to declare racism a public health crisis.
The Commission is sched- uled to vote on a resolution re- garding racism at its meeting on Wednesday, September 16th, at 9 a.m. An estimated 100 community members plan to view the BOCC meeting which will take place virtually
due to the coronavirus pan- demic.
Supporters of naming racism as a public health crisis are a diverse group including Bible-Based Fellowship Church of Carrollwood, H.O.P.E., Hillsborough Or- ganization for Progress & Equality, an organization comprised of 23 congrega- tions, USF College of Public Health, and the Florida De- partment of Public Health Hillsborough. At least 10 speakers plan to address the commission before it votes on the issue.
“Given the recent challeng- ing and difficult times we find ourselves in, it is important that the prophetic voice of the Church be heard on this moral
issue of racism and its effects on our community. We cannot let this moment pass without getting into “Good Trouble” by joining the growing call for justice and meaningful policy change,” said Antionette Davis, Director of the Justice Ministry at Bible-Based Fel- lowship Church, Carrollwood.
The group supports pas- sage of a resolution to link racism and public health due to findings from numerous studies that found that Blacks and other people of color suf- fer from higher rates of dia- betes, hypertension, asthma, and heart disease than Whites. Systemic and institutional racism is a major cause of the negative health disparities, studies show.
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A New And Low Standard
The narrow margin of the polls between President Donald Trump and presidential hopeful Joe Biden re- minds us of two events. The first was a 2016 Trump cam- paign rally where Trump said, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” The second was the recent photo oppor- tunity Trump seized in front of the Ashburton parish house next to St. John’s Episcopal Church holding a Bible in the midst of protests.
By his actions, he shows that he does not read or live by the Bible nor is he able to pronounce some of the names of the chapters of scripture. Obviously, Trump counts on the large and vocal following he has; a following that no longer cares about or values the ideals, ethics and foundation of humanity and politics. A following that still supports him, in spite of interviews, statements, and books by his niece, Mary Trump, one of his sisters.
“His attorney and fixer,” Michael D. Cohen, Omorosa Manigault Newman, former Trump aide, John Bolton, former national security adviser, and CBS White House Correspondent Johnathan Karl, each describing Presi- dent Trump’s character with a whole litany of undesirable character traits. “Selfish,” “racist,” “unfit,” “loved Putin,” “a dictator,” “liar,” “cheat,” “fraud,” “bully,” “a con man,” “predator,” “manipulator” “tax evader,” “sexual ha- rasser,” “insulting,” “crude,” “sexist,” “sociopath,” “nar- cissist,” “ruthless,” “fragile ego,” “clown,” and other choice descriptive terms. Yet, Trump’s base remains loyal to him, even though he fits all of the descriptive terms used to describe him.
The character of future presidential candidates will never be able to be criticized because of the low standard of behavior set by President Trump. America’s standing among other world leaders will be difficult to elevate be- cause of the appearance of our acceptance of Trump’s be- havior in spite of credible witnesses to his alleged criminal actions and unstable professional behavior.
The Trump presidency has set a new and low standard of respect and behavior for the office of President. We can only hope that there are enough voters on November 3rd, in states with more electoral votes for Biden than for Trump. The race will be tight and a true gauge of Amer- ica’s ethics or lack thereof. Please register and VOTE.
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