Page 4 - 4-10-15 Friday's Edition

Real Fathers
TAMPA - This weekend I had the opportunity to attend a festival at my alma mater Florida A&M University (FAMU) to wit- ness aspiring journalists present documentaries on issues that are affecting our communities and his- torical black universities. I was truly amazed at the thought- provoking short clips produced by these in- dividuals.
I must admit my son, Jordan was one of the journalists who along with another colleague pro- duced “Stage 5,” a docu- mentary about cancer and the impact on patients and loved ones. Yes, I am proud, as any father would be to see his son making a positive difference and ad- dressing real issues in our society.
What hit me the most was the documentary called “Return to Sender,” a documentary addressing fathers who lost their sons too soon highlighting Trayvon Martin and Lyfe Coleman from Tampa. The fathers write letters to their sons and address the pain of losing their sons and how they fight to en- sure their deaths were not in vain. Both fathers were very active and played an important role in their son’s lives. Lyfe Cole- man’s death did not get national attention, but his life does matter. All lives matter.
Just recently in Tampa, several teenage boys were killed. No, there was no national coverage or out- rage. We did not see the community marching or local officials and digni- taries speaking out and saying enough is enough. More importantly, why are we silent and not speaking out every day and marching in our com- munities and saying this must stop? It appears that
we don’t value the lives of our own until an officer or other nationalities take the lives of our sons. We seek blame versus taking responsibility.
Folks, it does take a vil- lage as well as a commu- nity, dignitaries, law enforcement and most im- portantly parents to make a difference.
I can recall vividly growing up in East Tampa (Northview Hills), neigh- bor policing happened daily. When we would act out, neighbors would step up and discipline us and tell our parents and an- other whooping would take place. We fought each other and those from other neighborhoods, but we lived to see another day. Yes, we had parents and neighbors who cared about us all.
Yes, Ms. Mary, Ms. Sara, and Ms. Willie Mae thanks for the whoopings. Thanks Officers Monroe, Hires, Cole and Philmore for keeping us out of harm’s way. Thanks mom and dad for parenting and never taking the easy way out. Nobody ever said par- enting is easy. It is truly the hardest job but most rewarding I have ever had.
If we continue to be silent, we will see the de- mise of teen-aged boys who will never make it to live out their dreams. We will continue to talk about what they were going to be and not what they are cur- rently doing.
Men, we do make a dif- ference and when we are involved in our kids’ lives, it does matter. In honor- ing all those fathers, grandfathers and men who are playing a signifi- cant role and like Jaheim said, “doing the daddy’s thing,” I salute you for all you do.
RICARDO KINSEY
Feature
Mayor Talks About Tampa’s Future
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Entering his second term as Tampa’s Mayor, Bob Buckhorn said he learned a lot from his first term, and is better prepared to meet the challenges that come with administering the services for Tampa.
Asked what he wants to accomplish, Mayor Buckhorn simply said, “A lot!
“I think we’ve only just begun. We will con- tinue to invest in our neighborhoods, parks, in- frastructure, new street lights, and other projects.
“I want to see growth at our port. That area generates 80,000 direct and indirect jobs and the growth would mean even more opportunities for the longshoremen and others seeking employ- ment in that industry.”
Mayor Buckhorn said when it comes to the city’s streetcar system and transit, they don’t have the funds right now to invest in the streetcar sys- tem, but they’re looking for partners to make it happen.
“We have a huge backlog of needs. Our inner- city residents need a better bus system. It falls far short of the expectations of the residents, and it’s inadequate for the growth we’ve experienced.
‘We’d love to convince people to use mass transit, because that would take a lot of traffic off the streets and there wouldn’t be a need to keep building parking garages. It would also give our workers a chance to start fixing a lot of our road- ways and sidewalks. The need for mass infra- structure repairs is crucial right now.”
Mayor Buckhorn said repaving in East Tampa has taken more than a third of the city’s repaving budget.
“Aging pipes have been exploding all over the city, and because of the recession over the past 7
MAYOR BOB BUCKHORN
years, we’ve been patching instead of replacing. It’s a shame the Republican Congress won’t in- vest in basic infrastructure.”
“As far as the neighborhoods are concerned, we want to make sure the residents continue to enjoy a high quality of life, use our parks and recreation programs for the kids, and be an im- portant part in keeping our neighborhoods safe. We’ve got to take care of the nuts and bolts first.”
Mayor Buckhorn said it’s important people don’t get the wrong impression by what’s been going on downtown.
“What’s happening downtown has nothing to do with what is or isn’t going on in neighbor- hoods all over the city. Most of those projects were green-lighted before I took office, so now I’m trying to put that energy into the surrounding neighborhoods.
“With growth comes change, and Tampa is changing right along with its neighborhoods and businesses.”
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2015