Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 8-5-22

With Growing Homelessness, Rent Control Has Become A Must
The critical state of low-income and affordable housing has been 30 years in the making, with the passing of the Hope IV initiative in 1992, and the Choice Neighborhood Initia- tive in the early 2000s. The so-called intent of the programs was to revitalize the worst public housing projects into mixed-income developments. Its philosophy was largely based on New Urbanism and basically lowered the number of low-income and affordable apartments nationwide. Tampa is no exception.
Tampa City Council voted 6-1 on last Thursday in favor of adding a measure on the November ballot to control rent prices. Voters would decide if the city could cap rent prices. Council members also agreed to move forward with declar- ing a housing state of emergency.
All over the country landlords are needlessly raising rents on apartments and houses to levels that cause too many fam- ilies to become homeless. If a renter experiences a pay raise, we doubt that raise would equal $300 to $500 a month, which seems to be the range of rent increases locally. A rent increase of $500 a month equals a $6,000 annual increase.
Locally, one of our readers and his roommate did not sign a renewal lease for their two-bedroom apartment and moved in with one of their parents while they bought and refur- bished a RV. They said they made that decision because their rent increased by $500 a month. They were at a loss as to what a new expense for a 230-unit apartment complex would cause the rent to go up 23%. They felt it was GREED.
Rent control regulations exist in five states: California, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Oregon as well as Wash- ington, D. C. As of 2019, approximately 182 cities have rent control as well. Yet, rent and evictions are on the rise all over the country, fueling a need to consider rent control in other states and cities.
Sadly, rent control or government intervention in the price of rent is banned in 37 states, including Florida. How- ever, the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, also known as AB 1482, allows landlords to increase their “annual rent by 5% plus the percentage change in the cost of living (Consumer Price Index) per year up to 10%.” We estimate that the Act means a landlord cannot increase a person’s rent more than 15% each year. So, if your rent increased by more than 15%, you should consult the Tenant Protection Act for your rights under the 2019 federal law.
Families are struggling, food banks are running out of food, the price of food, rent and homes have risen above the ability of people to rent or buy, and the number of homeless citizens is increasing.
Everyone deserves affordable housing and food.
The Confederacy Lives On
Did you know that there is a place where the descen- dants of the Confederacy
display the Confederate flag daily, dress up in antebellum and Confederate attire, drink mint juleps, and celebrate the way of their Confederate ances- tors annually?
Yes, there is such a place, Americana, Brazil. In fact, there was an annual festival, (Fiesta Confederada) planned by the fraternity of American Descen- dants held in what was known as Vila Americana until 1938.
When the American Confed- eracy lost the Civil War, in 1865, 10,000 Black and white south- erners fled the United States to Brazil, 5,000 fled to Mexico, and a smaller number fled to other places. The hope of the Confederates was to rebuild and carry on its tradition because slavery was legal in Brazil. Most of the Southerners relocated from Alabama, Georgia, and Texas. Today, I will focus on Brazil and Mexico as to what happened to the American im- migrants who relocated to these two countries.
Brazil, Americana became the name of the area where the Southerners settled in the state of San Paulo. Today, people liv- ing there speak English with a Southern accent and adorn their homes with the Confederate flag. Of the 243,230 residents of Americana, all are full or partial “brasileios Americana’.
Immigration to Brazil began in 1866 with the encouragement and support of Emperor Dom Pedro, III, who had become a “fierce advocate of the South during the Civil War.” Dom Pedro, III recruited pro-Con- federates, offered free and cheap land, and facilitated an easy path to citizenship. In re- turn, the Southerners brought agricultural innovations, the wheelbarrow and plow, and a kind of watermelon called “Ge- orgia’s rattlesnake.”
The Confederates could own slaves there and set up cotton plantations and founded a tex- tile industry, giving the area the name of “Rayon City.” Because half of the Brazilian population is of African descent, Black ac- tivists demonstrate during Fi- esta Confederada, carrying signs and banners saying, “Down with the Confederate flag.”
Mexico. Slavery ended in Mexico in 1837, so white South- erners were not allowed to bring slaves to Mexico. Even though Blacks and whites fled to Mex- ico, between 1865 and 1870, Blacks attempted to form their own settlements when they ar- rived. An Alabama Senator, William Hutchinson Norris was the first American immi- grant to the area of Carlota, and Confederate General Matthew Fontane Maury became the founder and pro- moter of the New Virginia co- lonywhichwastobeapartofa
network of Confederate colonies in Mexico. Emperor Fer- nando Maximilian had given awards to Confederate officers and encouraged settlement there by offering land grants. Mexico was seen as an agricul- tural paradise by white planta- tion owners and as a land of liberty by slaves.
The Afro-Mexican (Black Mexican) population are de- scendants of African immi- grants, and both free and enslaved Blacks who escaped to Mexico from neighboring French, Spanish speaking coun- tries and the Caribbean.
Today, most of the Black Mexican population are located in the Costa Chica of Oaxaca, Huetamo, Michoacán, Lazaro Cardenas, Guerrero and Vera- cruz. Initially, Black immi- grants settled in Durango and Laguna areas. However, Gas- par Yenga founded the first free town of escaped slaves, a settlement known as Yanga, Vera Cruz. A Texas slave, William Henry Ellis who translated his name to Guillermo Enrique Eliseo passed himself off as a Mexican and became a millionaire in New York, brokering in the Mexican cotton trade. He led nearly 1,000 Blacks to settle in Tlhaualila, Durango, but they returned to America because of disease and poor living condi- tions. Settlements in Durango and Lagunda collapsed because of disease pandemics and ex- ploitation of workers.
I question whether the con- tinued celebration of and the honoring of the Confederacy brings with it attitudes of racism. There is no doubt the Confederacy lives on in the South of America and in Brazil where more slaves were brought than to America. Harambee!
Editorial/Column
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2022