Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 2-11-22

Editorial
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Local
After Public Outcry:
City Puts Promises Of Inclusion Into Place For Hanna Ave. City Center Project
After public concerns were expressed at City Council on January 13th concerning minor- ity business participation, the City of Tampa will hire a desig- nated advocate to help achieve the city’s goal for minority and small business participation in the construction of the planned City Center on Hanna Avenue in East Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor announced Monday.
"The Hanna Avenue City Center is such a historic and im- portant investment in East Tampa and the entire city that we want extra oversight to en- sure we maximize minority par- ticipation and apprenticeships," Mayor Castor said.
The City Center Project will consolidate multiple city de- partments into a 161,000 Sq. ft. building.
The City of Tampa has set a goal of 35 percent participation in the $108-million project for African American-owned firms
and other historically underuti- lized small businesses.
Tampa City Council members approved the project in Novem- ber to consolidate multiple city departments into one commu- nity hub.
Mayor Castor instructed city officials to hire an owner's representative to monitor ap- prenticeships and minority par- ticipation after consulting with community partners, including the Urban League of Hillsbor- ough County, the Tampa Organ- ization of Black Affairs, and the NAACP Hillsborough County.
"Hanna is an extraordinary workforce development oppor- tunity, and we need to get it right," Mayor Castor said. "Our community partners will play a key role in recruiting and spreading the word about job and apprenticeship opportuni- ties, and the general contractor, DPR Construction of Redwood City, CA, shares our steadfast commitment to diversity, eq- uity, and inclusion."
According to the city, DPR has been conducting commu- nity outreach sessions since
DPR has another infor- mational session for the community, including prospective job-seekers and subcontractors, on Feb. 16 at Ragan Park Com- munity Center.
DPR also is expanding its di- versity, equity, and inclusion ef- forts. Ariel Business Group led by Thomas Huggins, II of Tampa is in negotiations to as- sist with inclusion.
“DPR has a demonstrated commitment to diversity out- reach,” said Patrice Haley, DPR’s national supplier diver- sity leader. “We are, and will continue to collaborate with the City of Tampa to maximize our diverse partner outreach efforts on the City Center at Hanna Av- enue with transparency.”
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Hate: One For All, All For One
t least 26 Historically Black Colleges and Universities have received bomb threats this week or longer ago. The perpe- trators chose to target the centers of Blacks’ mechanisms
for advancing our educational and economic growth.
We remind all hate group members and the world that this is 2022 and neither bomb threats, nor cross burnings, or waving Confederate and Nazi flags will deter Blacks’ struggle for equality
and justice.
We further remind them that these acts didn’t stop us during
the 1800s and 1900s and they surely won’t stop us in the 2000s. We are willing to shed blood for our freedom, our education, eco- nomic and social justice and equity, and choice of housing.
For years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned America that hate groups pose the greatest threat to our democracy. We affirm that no matter how many hate groups spring up, no matter how many flags are waved or insults hurled, Americans who remain silent while these hate groups commit vi- cious and intimidating hate acts are just as guilty as the people who commit such acts.
We stand against all hate – hate for Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Muslims, Buddhists, Middle Easterners, LGBTQ citizens, women, or any other group.
Moreover, we are reminded of a 1946 quote by a German Lutheran pastor, “Martin Niemoller, who originally supported the Nazis but then led opposition to the regime,” in the 1930s and early 1940s: Niemoller said, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Niemoller was arrested and sent to the concentration camps, Sachsenhausen and Dachau. Germans were complicit (espe- cially Protestant churches) by their silence while the Nazis im- prisoned, persecuted, and murdered 6 million Jews.
Today, we can substitute, “Blacks and the Voting Rights Act, “Democrats,” Republicans in Name Only (RINO),” Conservative Republicans,” and “Moderate Republicans,” in the quote because Extremist Republicans are turning on and eating other Republi- cans who dare support the equitable application of voting laws, who don’t support Donald Trump, who won’t support the Big Lie or who vote in support of laws proposed by Democrats.
Therefore, we should develop a “One for all and all for one Coalition to fight for each other. There is strength in numbers.”
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