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City Of Tampa Employees Past And Present Host 28th Annual Black History Program
New Year’s Day Feast
The 28th annual New Year’s Day Feast celebration was held in Seffner at the beautiful home of Carolyn Hill. More than 200 peo- ple attended. (PHOTOS BY JULIA JACKSON)
Members of the Black History Committee shown on the front row from left to right are: Connie White- Arnold, Bettye Greene Johnson, Past President, Linda Williams-Lewis, Celeste Gibbons-Peoples, Presi- dent, Bobby L. Bowden, Founder, Debbie Mercer, Treasurer, Mark Wilfalk, Parliamentarian, and Miray Holmes. Shown on the back row are: Frank Woodard, Katrina House, Regina Lock-DePass, Jillian Howard, Ferraro Jacobs, Lenoir Russell, Wanda Thompson, Arthur Parker, Anita White, Cedric McCray, Anthony McGee, Jevon Harvin, LaChone Dock.
Hillsborough County retired principals enjoying the feast were: Carolyn Hill, Joyce Miles, Bonnie Hall-Crews, Pat Hires, Fontaine London, and Ms. Adkins.
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
City employees past and present, residents and digni- taries filled the room at the Tampa Convention Center Monday to celebrate the 28th Annual Black History Cele- bration, hosted by the City of Tampa’s Black History Com- mittee, Inc.
In keeping with this year’s theme, “Celebrating the Power of Music: Past and Present,” the program in- cluded performances by stu- dents, including Robles Elementary School’s World of Drummers.
The committee also recog- nized several musicians who have connections to Tampa, including composer and play- wright Noble Sissle, jazz musician brothers, Cannon- ball and Nat Adderley, and popular showman, Shawn Brown.
The celebration of Black History Month also is a time to celebrate the right to vote, said Frank Reddick, Chair- man of the Tampa City Coun- cil.
Mr. Reddick implored the audience to honor those who fought for all to go to the polls by registering and then casting ballots in the March 15th Presidential Election Pri- mary.
“Let’s celebrate them by doing what we need to do and that’s going out to vote,” he said.
Tampa native and keynote speaker, Lyman A. Brodie preceded his speech with a trumpet solo of the National Anthem.
The music prompted everyone to stand – just the reaction Brodie said he ex- pected.
Mr. Brodie, a professor
LYMAN A. BRODIE ...Keynote Speaker
of music and associate dean of the College of Arts and Hu- manities at the University of Central Florida, said music is a powerful force that trans- forms and changes lives.
As Americans, we’re trained to stand when the An- them is played because it’s be- come part of our musical memory, he said.
“The reason I chose the Anthem is because it’s the one thing that cuts across all bar- riers,” he said. “It doesn’t mat- ter what you look like or what you have, we’re all Ameri- cans.”
Any song that holds some special meaning for us can in- stantly trigger a memory, make our heads nod, or our feet tap, he said.
“That’s the power of music,” he said.
Mr. Brodie, who at- tended Blake High School, said his career in music began at 16, when he saw his future mentor, Don Owen, play the trumpet during a perform- ance of the Tampa Philhar- monic.
Mr. Brodie never before had seen a symphony orches- tra. He didn’t know anyone who looked like him who played classical music. He was mesmerized.
Mr. Brodie would later meet Owen at a summer band camp. Recognizing his talent, Owen would arrange for Mr. Brodie to obtain a scholarship to study music at the University of South Florida, where he was a pro- fessor.
Owen encouraged Mr. Brodie to audition for what was then the Florida Gulf Coast Orchestra. He did – and was selected as third chair trumpet.
It was a groundbreaking moment, Brodie said.
“There were just four dark faces in the auditorium: me, my parents, and the custo- dian,” he said.
Mr. Brodie’s career as a trumpeter has taken him around the world and he’s played with many notable artists, including recently de- ceased vocalist Natalie Cole.
Mr. Brodie encouraged audience members to feed their hunger for music “with real instruments and real voices.”
Members of the Black His- tory Committee are: Connie White-Arnold, Linda Williams-Lewis, Celeste Gibbons-Peoples, Presi- dent, Debbie Mercer, Treasurer, Lenoir Russell, Mark Wilfalk, Parliamen- tarian, Frank Crum, Frank Woodard, Jevon Harvin, Katrina House, LaChone Dock, Anita White, Arthur Parker, Ferraro Jacobs, Jillian Howard, Cedric McCray, Regina Lock-DePass, Venus Mar- tinez, Secretary, Anthony McGee, Wanda Thomp- son, Asst. Treasurer, Betty Greene Johnson, An- thony Grace, Bridgett Gordon, Vice President, Miray Holmes, and Bobby L. Bowden.
Longtime friend, Maurice Jackson, attended the feast.
Ms. Ellen Robinson pitched in to help.
The Moragne family: Bryce, Taylor, and Rayan.
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