Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 11-5-19

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Florida Black Caucus Legislative Agenda Challenges Gov. Desantis
Open Letter To Florida’s Governor
Re: Governor DeSantis should appoint at least one Black representative Justice to the Florida Supreme Court – prefer- ably two.
Governor DeSantis: As of the date of this writing (October 28, 2019), the Black citizens of Florida are an unrep- resented community on the Florida Supreme Court, albeit that they desire and deserve to be represented on this very important Court. Good news: it does now appear that two vacancies on the Court now exist or will soon exist due to the nominations of Justices Lagoa and Luck to the Eleventh U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Said vacancies present a timely opportunity for you – through your power of appointment – to bless this community with at least one, prefer- ably two Blacks to the
Court.
Of course, the benefits
of a diverse Court flow not only to the Black citi- zens of Florida, but also to the entire population of our great state.
Most states with sig- nificant Black popula- tion have at least one or more Black Judges who sit and serve on their highest Court. This is particularly true in the South: Georgia (Chief Justice Harold D. Melton and Justice Robert Ben- ham), South Carolina (Chief Justice Donald W. Beatty), North Carolina (Chief Justice Cheri
Beasley and Justice Michael Morgan), Louisiana (Chief Justice Bernette Joshua John- son), Virginia (Justice Samuel Bernard Good- wyn and Justice Cleo Powell), and Mississippi (Justice Leslie D. King).
A final note that is personal to this writer: Because in a true democ- racy “representation” in the judiciary is as impor- tant as it is in the legisla- ture, I ask in all events that you choose Black Judges who are “repre- sentative” of the prevail- ing views of the Black community. While it is possible to do otherwise would be to curse rather than bless an important constituency that is cur- rently unrepresented.
Your record to date on matters such as this is well-known and appreci- ated – keep up the good work.
Sincerely, WARREN H. DAWSON,
Esq.
Warren Hope Dawson, a veteran civil rights lawyer and a native of Mulberry, Polk County, Florida, who after more than 50 years is still en- gaged in the active prac- tice of law in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida. Previously he served on the Florida Supreme Court Bench and Bar Commission and has devoted a num- ber of years to the activ- ities of the organized bar, including his past service as President of the National Bar Associ- ation.
BY JERI YONDER
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Black Caucus revealed a 2020 legislative agenda that could provide quite a challenge to Governor Ron DeSantis. The Caucus, the largest in the state legislature, is hoping to meet with him to discuss it, but after 10 months they have yet to meet him, giving the ap- pearance that he is avoiding the group.
Senator Perry Thurston, (D) Pompano Beach, was asked how DeSantis com- pared to former Governor Rick Scott, who had an 8- year tumultuous and adversar- ial relationship with Black lawmakers. He said the com- parison, “was setting a low bar.”
Thurston’s experience with DeSantis however, has gotten off to a rocky start. He is lead- ing an effort that has repeat- edly urged the Governor to appoint African Americans to the Florida Supreme Court. That call for diversity has been ignored. And, Thurston cau- tioned that if DeSantis does appoint an African American, it should not be “a judge that thinks like Clarence Thomas,” the conservative African American U. S. Supreme Court justice. De- Santis is a loyalist of Presi- dent Donald Trump, who has loaded the courts with con- servative judges.
The Constitutional Amend- ment that restores the voting rights of non-violent felons was amended by a law that would
SENATOR PERRY THURSTON
REP. DIANNE HART
require returning citizens to pay the fines associated with the sentence.
The Republican-controlled legislature passed the bill, and it was signed by Governor DeSantis. Civil rights advo- cates said the law was a "poll tax" and part of a voter sup- pression scheme to make it near impossible for 1.4 million people to register to vote.
A federal court challenge that followed gave "poll tax" opponents a partial victory be- cause the judge ordered the legislature to expedite the cre- ation of the administrative
REP. GERALDINE THOMPSON
AUDREY GIBSON Senate Democratic Leader
process to determine the abil- ity of returning citizens to pay the fine. Thurston says he is working with Republicans to that end.
Rep. Geraldine Thomp- son, (D) Orlando, said she continues to request a meeting with the new governor to no avail. DeSantis was lauded for joining Florida Cabinet members in pardoning the Groveland Four, African Amer- ican teenagers brutalized and accused `of raping a white girl 70 years ago. The Governor did not go far enough in righting the miscarriage of justice, ac- cording to Thompson, “They should be exonerated.”
Rep. Dianne Hart, (D) Tampa, discussed several criminal justice concerns in- cluding a prison system over- flowing with first offenders. She also says that the state has abandoned programs that pro- vide a proper exit strategy for returning citizens. “We are not educating or providing rehabil- itation to the incarcerated.”
Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson had discus- sions with Surgeon General Scott A. Rivkees about in- creased funding for killer dis- eases that disproportionately impact African Americans. Blacks top the list of ethnic groups adversely affected by cancer, hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.
Other issues include gun vi- olence prevention, raising all teacher salaries to $47,000; $27 million for Florida’s pri- vate HBCU’s; and job creation.
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019