Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 5-10-19

Politics
The Republicans Keep Making Those Moves
The end of this year’s leg- islative session is one of the most shameful in our his- tory. From Jim Crow-era vot- ing laws, to placing children of color in harm’s way -- un- dermining the rights of people of color was a constant in nearly every major piece of legislation that passed in 2019.
As the political power of communities of color grows, conservative lawmakers in the Florida state legislature are doing everything they can to strip us of our power and our vote. While Democratic champions fought against arming teachers, dismantling our public schools, and Jim Crow voting bills – Florida Republicans, under the direc- tion of Donald Trump, be- trayed all of us.
A modern day poll tax:
More than 65% of Florida vot- ers cast ballots to amend our constitution and restore the voting rights of more than 1.4 million convicted felons who have served their time. As De- mocrats and Supervisors of Elections began to register re- turning citizens to vote, Florida Republicans passed a bill that says before casting a vote, returning citizens have to pay fines, fees and court costs. Florida repealed poll taxes in 1937 – but Republi- cans in the legislature under- stand the growing power of our vote, and here we are again.
Guns in schools: The National Rifle Associa- tion supports arming teach- ers. And now, Florida Republicans support arming teachers. Giving teachers guns avoids the real problem of gun violence and it makes us less safe. African American Democrats in the legislature passionately argued that turn- ing Florida schools into armed camps makes us less safe and members of the NAACP, teachers unions, parent-teacher associa-
JUAN PEÑALOSA
tions, and Black journal- ists have indicated that stu- dents of color are at greater risk by arming teachers. But, these arguments fell on deaf ears to most Republicans in the Florida legislature and they sent a bill putting more guns in schools to Governor DeSantis. Now, it’s up to us to stop arming teachers by making our voices heard at the local level.
De-funding Public Schools: Legislators who are in the pocket of unregulated private schools voted to take hundreds of millions of dol- lars from public schools and give those funds to private schools that profit off of our children and are unregulated by local school boards. Ac- cording to Florida NAACP President Adora Nweze, vouchers are “a tool of segre- gation.” And she is correct. There’s no disguising the ef- fort to allow white and afflu- ent students to exit the public schools to attend private schools at the expense of Florida taxpayers. The char- ter schools legislation is yet another unconstitutional public dollar funding private schools effort that actually takes new property tax dollars authorized by taxpayers in certain counties and gives a portion of it to charter schools, many of whom do- nate millions to the Republi- cans in the legislature who passed the law.
Unfortunately, most peo- ple don’t find out about this
kind of hurtful legislation until it’s too late. We want you to know Democrats are fight- ing and we ask you to join us to fight against the bills that defund our access to educa- tion. Florida Republicans keep making these moves be- cause they recognize the power of our black and brown votes, and are passing bills that defund our access to ed- ucation and restrict our rights to vote. Florida Democrats are demanding change to make Florida a better state for ALL Floridians, not just those in power, and we will never stop working toward that end. We don’t fear the future. We will fight for it.
Juan Peñalosa is the Executive Director of the Florida Democratic Party. Florida Democ- rats have committed to registering 200,000 De- mocrats before the 2020 Presidential primary and are investing more than $4 million in 2019, in hiring and organizing communities of color. This investment includes new programs like www.organizingcorps20 20.com, which will give 200+ Florida students of color paid fellowships to organize their communi- ties and register voters in Florida.
Turning Around Makes The Difference
This is the time to cele- brate students’ academic and educational success. Let’s cheer on the students that earned their way to obtaining straight A’s, the Honor Roll, and Dean’s List.
However, we cannot forget about the “Turn Around Students.” The students that had behavior issues in Elementary School, Middle School, High School or an Institu- tion of Higher Education, but managed to turn their behavior and academic challenges into stronger positive mindsets. The re- sults are commendable.
A Turn Around Student is defined as, a male or fe- male student growing up in a dysfunctional home, a single parent home, home- less, displaced, or had major discipline infrac-
tions in a K-12 School or an Institution of Higher Edu- cation. These students overcame behavior is- sues and turned their be- havior and academics around to achieve educa- tional excellence.
Today, we salute the Turn Around Students in the great State of Florida and the United States of America. We are all proud of you individually and col- lectively for your hard work and determination.
We are ever so grateful for the opportunity to edu- cate you and contribute to your positive develop- ment. Stay focused on your dreams and move forward to your goals. Congratulations to the Class of 2019!
DR. SHANDALE TERRELL Lakeland, Florida
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2019