Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 12-26-17

Features
Agreement Between Legal Community Protects Students
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
A Hillsborough County School Board member said a program she launched a decade ago has come to fruition. In order for the pro- gram to work, it required co- operation from components of the legal profession.
Recently, with all parties in- volved, a plan is in place that will protect the civil rights of students in Hillsborough County. The Pilot Program comes into play when stu- dents are questioned by mem- bers of law enforcement. A representative from the Hills- borough County Public De- fender’s Office will also be present during the question- ing.
Ms. April Griffin said, “It came to my attention about 10 years ago that the rights of students were not being pro- tected. School officials do their best to contact parents, but in a few situations, stu- dents were questioned by law enforcement.”
Ms. Griffin said in order for the program to work, it
JULIE HOLT Hillsborough County Public Defender
required cooperation from the School District, the Hillsbor- ough County Public De- fender’s Office and the Hillsborough County State At- torney’s Office, among others. Ms. Griffin said the previous administration in the State Attorney’s Office was not re- ceptive to the idea so she had to wait.
Ms. Griffin further stated that when Jeff Eakins be- came the Superintendent of the Hillsborough County
ANDREW WARREN Hillsborough County State At- torney
School District, “This was one of the first things I talked to Jeff about. Andrew War- ren also embraced the idea,” she said.
Ms. Julie Holt, Hillsbor- ough County Public Defender said, “Our office looks forward to being a part of the training of school administrators and teachers to advise students of their right to a Student Advo- cate when a child is going to be questioned by law enforce- ment while on a school cam-
APRIL GRIFFIN Hillsborough County School District Board Member
pus.
“We are hopeful that stu-
dents and their parents will recognize the importance of sound legal advice in situa- tions that can have long term and substantial consequences for our youth.
“We are grateful to partner with the School Board of Hillsborough County in an ef- fort to follow the best prac- tices recommended by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Office
JEFF EAKINS Superintendent Hillsborough County School District
of Juvenile Justice and Delin- quency Protection. These best practices are well thought out and ensure integrity in the ju- venile justice system,” Ms. Holt stated.
Now that the program has been agreed on by the partici- pating parties, members of the school district will be trained and a dedicated tele- phone number will be estab- lished at the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Of- fice.
Motorcycle Riders Encourage, Empower, Improve Lives
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
A group of ladies in the
Tampa Bay Area who come from all walks of life, have joined forces. They are build- ing a name for themselves as
BESSIE STRINGFIELD ...first Black woman to ride across country.
the “Band Of Roses.”
But don’t be misled by the name. When these ladies at- tend an event, they don’t tip in and take a seat in the back of the room. Member Mela- nee Holder said, “We don’t act like we belong there, we
act like we own it.”
They enter chicly dressed
from head to toe and riding motorcycles. The Band of Roses is the Tampa-based, African American, all female motorcycle riders.
Created in 2010, the mem- bers are: Rose Norris, Jeanette O’Bryant, Mela- nee Holder, Tracie Key, Bridgette Bowles, Jacqueline Perkins, Daf- fany Glasper Prentice, Kimeko Parson, Saman- tha Ford, and Lois Cato.
The ladies come from di- verse backgrounds and di- verse careers. They are retired law enforcement officers, nurses, breast cancer sur- vivors, professionals, and business women.
“We make biking pretty.
BAND OF ROSES
We like to bling, and we are making a statement. We are on a mission to encourage, empower, and improve the lives of others.
“When we attend an event, people stare because they don’t expect to see African American women on bikes. We are using the bikes as our platform to get the word out. We are focusing on what motorcycling means to Blacks.
In this era, we all have to deal with things in life. It’s not how you deal with it, it’s how you overcome it,” Ms. Holder said.
The ladies have taken part in numerous events since their debut. They are cur- rently preparing for a Schol- arship Ride in 2019. And they have stood in the gap for com- munity events targeting can- cer and charity events. When they visited the Kids Cancer Camp, the children took pic- tures sitting on the bikes. And, they have provided Christmas for needy families.
Next year, the ladies plan to participate in the Annual Bessie Stringfield Motorcycle Ride. Their plans were can- celled this year because of a storm.
Bessie Stringfield was the first African American woman to ride across the United States alone. She made her first run in 1930, at the age of 19.
Ms. Stringfield, a native of Kingston, Jamaica, served as a motorcycle dispatch rider during World War II.
She encountered sexism and racism, often having to sleep on her bike. She earned money by performing motor- cycle stunts in carnival shows.
She became known as the “Motorcycle Queen of Miami” after moving to Florida. Ms. Stringfield was also in- ducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002.
Ms. Stringfield owned 27 bikes and rode up until her death. She died in 1993, at the age of 82 from a heart condi- tion.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017