Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 6-23-17

Features
Commissioners Vote To Keep Confederate Statue
Church Official Confirms Meeting With FBI About Allegations
STATUE
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Wednesday, the Hillsbor- ough County Board of Com- missioners voted against removing a Confederate statue in front of the old County Courthouse. The vote was 4-3.
When talking about the statue last week prior to the meeting, Commissioner Les Miller, Jr., said, “These types of statues are being removed all over the country and it is time that Hillsborough County re- moves this one. We hope to find a not-for-profit organiza- tion that is willing to take it. These types of statues are divi- sive.”
He made a motion during the regular board meeting to re- move the statue. He was sup- ported by Commissioners Pat Kemp and Al Higgin- botham. However, his motion was defeated 4-3 with Com- missioners Stacy White, Sandy Murman, Ken Hagan, and Victor Crist vot- ing to keep the statue at its cur- rent location.
All four are Republicans and all four will be seeking re-elec- tion in 2018.
Commissioner White was also able to get his motion to block the removal of any war monument in Hillsborough County.
Calls to Commissioner White’s office were not re- turned at press time.
After the vote, Commis- sioner Miller said, “All over the country, other cities have taken them down. But Hills- borough County continues to be a county that is backwards.”
Citizens Outraged Community activist Mi- chelle Patty attended the meeting. “This is why it is so very important that Black peo- ple stop giving away. We are
LES MILLER, JR.
In favor of removing statue
STACY WHITE Against removing statue
not their interest. This is a slap in the face of the Black commu- nity.
“They don’t have any fear of Black power because we don’t come together and vote. If we did, we wouldn’t have what happened here today. We, as clergy, in this community needs to stop letting people di- vide us and move to the polls.”
She further said, “It is time to send a strong message that you’re not going to take us for granted anymore. Racism is alive and well.”
Mrs. Patty said the confer- ence room was filled to a ca- pacity with a very diverse group of people in opposition to the statue.
She further stated that Com- missioner White read from the La Gaceta newspaper dur- ing the meeting. “I’m trying to figure out when La Gaceta started speaking for the Black community,” she said.
Fred Hearns said, “I’m sick to death over the way this turned out. It is a terrible slap in the face. Symbols represent our values and this represents the values of Hillsborough County? I don’t get it.
“Not only is the statue going to remain there, they are going to enhance it and put other things around it. This was not a good day.”
Mrs. Chloe Coney said, “This was personal for me. I spoke and told them how I was treated as a student when I in- tegrated Hillsborough High School in 1967. I talked about how they used the “N’” word, hung Confederate flags during pep rallies, and sang “I wish I was in the land of cotton.’
“I asked them to look at this statue through the eyes of a 16- year-old who had to live through that. I cannot believe they voted to keep this statue as a constant reminder.”
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week members at New Salem Missionary Bap- tist Church voted to fire their pastor, Rev. Dr. Henry Lyons, who has led the congregation since 2003. The reason for the discontentment is the alle- gation of misappropriation of funds.
An official of the church who agreed to speak anony- mously confirmed that they have since been contacted by the Federal Bureau of In- vestigations (F.B.I.) and have agreed to a meeting with agents.
The spokesman said, “We were expecting it. We have agreed to cooperate with the F. B. I. to the fullest. The job of the officers of the church is to protect the church. From the initial contact, they seem to be looking at him, but I can’t say anything more until we have the meeting.”
He further said when the meeting was going to take place.
The spokesman said Rev. George Martin has been appointed as Interim Pastor
REV. DR. HENRY LYONS ... Fired from New Salem M. B. Church
of the church. “The church is not looking for, nor will we be looking for a pastor any time in the near future.”
The controversy at the church came to a boil last Thursday night during a meeting when the Board of Trustees and the Deacon’s Board voted to terminate Dr. Lyons amid allega- tions of misappropriation of funds.
Last Sunday, the church voted 52-32 to fire him and to remove his wife, Mrs. Willie B. Lyons as the
head of the church’s daycare center.
The allegations concern grant money that was re- portedly obtained by the daycare center to host com- munity events. However, the spokesman said, the church was never made aware of the grants or where it was deposited.
The spokesman said the church learned about the grants after they hired an organization known as Start Church. The organization conducted a computer search and discovered that the daycare had received several grants since 2009.
Last week during an in- terview, the spokesman said, “We were not aware of the grants and I asked the same two questions every time (1) Why wasn’t the church notified and (2) where was the money de- posited? And they would not (the Lyons) cooperate with us.”
When the Sentinel con- tacted the U. S. Attorney’s Office about the meeting, a spokesman said, “I cannot deny or confirm that there is an investigation under- way.”
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