Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 11-4-16 Online Edition

Feature
Advertisement For NAACP Presidency Upsets Readers
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Later this month, mem- bers of the Hillsborough
County Branch of the NAACP will elect new offi-
cers. Two people campaign- ing for the office of president are current President, Ben- nie Small and Ms. Yvette Lewis, Political Action Chairperson.
Last Friday, Small placed paid advertisement in the Sentinel as a candidate for the office. In the ad, he made several points that have been conceived as a personal attack on the char- acter of Ms. Lewis. Several citizens called the Sentinel after the ad appeared and voiced their concerns.
Bishop Thomas Scott,
pastor of 34th Street Church Of God said, “Here you have a sitting president who rep- resents the NAACP to place an ad of that nature in the Sentinel is despicable.
“That office represents people, it represents justice and equality and advertising such as that puts it in a neg- ative light.
“When a person holds an office of this magnitude, he or she should not stoop down in the gutter, but remain ele- vated so that the office and the organization maintains its integrity and credibility.”
State Representative Ed Narain said, “My spirit is grieved by this ad and what I see happening at the polling sites in our community. That advertisement was down- right nasty and could harm the local NAACP chapter for years to come. Why would anyone want to work with the NAACP when the leader- ship is willing to stoop this low in order to win an elec- tion?
“This ad just like the paid surrogates at the polls that
shout, attack and mislead people for money - are an unfortunate reflection of a crass political culture that is destroying our community. The political candidates that use these tactics show they care more about themselves and holding a title/position than they do the welfare of the community as a whole.
“I pray our children see past the poor example that is being set. We can and must do better than this for our community's sake.”
Ms. Izzy Boston said, “I think with this being a Civil Rights organization and vol- untary position, for someone to discredit a person who has been with the organization for so many years, and this is an outrage.
“It is an outrageous smear of someone’s charac- ter. This could actually keep her from finding a job.”
Rev. Dr. Zachery S. Hudson, pastor of Re-Birth Missionary Baptist Church said, “It sounds like charac- ter abuse. We have picked up some of the worst behavior by the politicians and every other negative segment of so- ciety.
“Our parents taught us better. They taught us to re- spect one another and to agree to disagree. I support Yvette Lewis.”
Ms. Elaine Jones said, “I feel Yvette Lewis has been very supportive of the organization and shouldn’t be attacked like that. No one should put anyone’s personal information out like that. This doesn’t make sense. It’s just not right.”
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2016