Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 1-20-17 Edition

Features
New School Named In Honor Of Tampa Attorney
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Tuesday, members of the Hillsborough County School District Board of Direc- tors selected a name for a new elementary school. The board members selected the name from among 191 nominations.
Board members decided by a 6-1 vote, to name Elementary School “C” in honor of Attor- ney Warren Hope Daw- son. Slated to open in August 2017, it will be located in the Triple Creek Subdivision, south of Big Ben Road and East of Balm River Road. Der- rick McLaughlin was chosen as its principal in December.
Attorney Dawson, 77, is currently celebrating his 50th year as a practicing attorney.
When contacted by the Sentinel, Attorney Daw- son said, “I am very honored by the decision of the Board members to recognize my 27 years of legal work that fo- cused on creating an equal ed- ucational opportunity in for all of the children in Hillsborough County.”
In 1974, he became the lead counsel for plaintiffs in “Man- ning v. The School Board of Hillsborough County.” The lawsuit sought equality in education for all children in Hillsborough County. In that role, Attorney Dawson as- sumed the day-to-day primary responsibility for monitoring and enforcing the desegrega-
tion orders of the Federal Courts.
Attorney Dawson con- tinued in this capacity for the 27-year life span of the lawsuit. He stated that he was not com- pensated for 24 of those years. The lawsuit concluded in 2001 after Hillsborough County sat- isfied all of the requirements to provide equal educational op- portunities to all children en- rolled in the Hillsborough County School District.
A native of Mulberry, where be sold Sentinel news- papers at the age of 8, Attor- ney Dawson attended the public schools of Polk County. After graduating from Union Academy High School, he con- tinued his education at Florida A & M University, where he majored in Political Science and minored in Economics.
Attorney Dawson was
Commissioned Officer in U. S. Army Reserve and served ac- tive duty from 1961 until 1963.
The next step in his quest higher education took him to the campus of Howard Univer- sity, School of Law, where he graduated from in 1966 with a Juris Doctorate Degree.
Attorney Dawson later became a founding partner at Dawson & Associates, where he handled cases involving Civil Rights and Liberties, Labor Relations, and EEOC matters. He also handled crim- inal cases and family court matters.
He is married to Mrs. Joan Dawson and has 1 daughter, Wendy. He also has two grandchildren.
He is a member of Mt. Zion AME Church of Mulberry, and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Derrick McLaughlin, left, newly chosen Principal of Warren Hope Dawson Elementary School, is shown with Attorney Warren Hope Dawson and Mrs. Joan Dawson.
Family Needs Help To Bury
Young Mother
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
The family of a young woman wh0 died thirteen days after her husband was mur- dered needs help for her fu- neral. She left behind two daughters and a young son.
Mrs. Temeka Burnett,
38, was found unresponsive at approximately 6:28 a.m., on January 10th. Emergency per- sonnel attempted to resuscitate her, but were unsuccessful. The cause of her death is pending and will be determined by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office.
A Facebook post from her oldest daughter, (biological niece), Ms. June Davis stated, “My mother passed away this morning to be with her husband, the man she loved more than anything else in this world. Temeka Bur- nett I love you with all my heart. Mackelle Burnett I love you with all my heart. I promise to take care and love your children as if they were my own because they are my siblings.”
Mrs. Burnett was a Tampa native and attended the public schools of Hillsborough County. She graduated from King High School. At the time of her death, Mrs. Burnett was a housewife and mother of two daughters ages 17 and 20, and a 4-year-old son.
The couple coached the Tampa Park Titans Football Team beginning in 2013. His wife coached the cheerleaders. They remained with the organ- ization until 2014.
Her sister, Ms. Machaella Browder said, “She had a beautiful voice and loved to
sing. Her hobbies included singing, dancing, and she loved playing tennis.”
In addition to her sister and children, Mrs. Burnett is sur- vived by her mother, Ms. Carol Matthews, 4 other sis- ters, 1 brother, and other fam- ily members and friends.
Her husband, Mackelle Lemon Burnett, 41, died after being shot during a home invasion on December 28th, at their Temple Terrace Apart- ment. The case was investi- gated by the Temple Terrace Police Department.
Two young men, Parish Devante Jordan and Leroy Monsalvatge, both 24, were taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to help the family with funeral expensive can do- nate to an online account. Visit www.gofundme.com/Mrs- Tameka-Burnett
Funeral services for Mrs. Burnett are incomplete. Wil- son’s Funeral Home is in charge of handling arrange- ments.
Funeral services for Mr. Burnett will take place in Al- bany, Georgia.
TEMEKA BURNETT 5/22/1978 to 1/10/2017
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-A