Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 5-24-16 Online Edition

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U. S. Rep. Kathy Castor Announces New Staff Appointments At Tampa District Office
Kentucky Elects First
U. S. Representative Kathy Castor (FL14) has appointed new staff at her Tampa district office to serve neighbors and families.
“Every year, my Tampa of- fice handles hundreds of con- stituent services cases to assist individuals, businesses and organizations as they try to navigate the various fed- eral agencies,” U. S. Rep. Castor said. “From accessing veterans’ benefits, assisting consumers with ID and tax refund fraud, to alerting non- profits about federal grant opportunities, my team is there to serve with compas- sion, energy and profession- alism.”
Patricia Givens has joined U. S. Rep. Castor’s Tampa office this month as office manager, bringing with her years of corporate cus- tomer service experience. Most recently, she worked as legislative aide to State Reps. Betty Reed and Ed Narain, where she devel- oped problem-solving abili- ties, as well as strong ties with our community and state leg- islators. As office manager, Ms. Givens will ensure
State Legislature In 20 Years
timely constituent services, assist callers and visitors, provide referrals and manage special projects.
Ms. Givens replaces Damaris “Dee” Gonzalez, who has become a Con- stituent Services Representa- tive in the office, focusing on assisting military families and veterans with accessing their earned benefits and services.
In addition to her experi- ence in the legal profession, Ms. Gonzalez’s passion and community work as a hospital officer for AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary Department of Florida and her other roles
with the AMVETS National Service Foundation and its local chapters makes her well suited for her new appoint- ment.
Ms. Gonzalez replaces Stephanie Germon, who moved on from U. S. Rep. Castor’s office to Gulf Coast Rehabilitation as a mental health therapist and consult- ant. Ms. Germon will prac- tice in the area she specialized in through her graduate de- gree and will join a task force working directly with veter- ans to reduce the suicide and divorce rates among military members and families.
After winning a three per- son primary race last night and defeating a long time incum- bent, Attica Scott will be the first African American woman to serve in Kentucky's State Legislature in 20 years.
Last night, Scott won the Democratic primary for Ken- tucky's 41st House District. She defeated Tom Riner who had served in the Kentucky House since 1992, and Phil Baker. Scott won 54% of the vote to Riner's 31%.
Scott has no Republican challenger to face on election day November 8.
Attica Scott announced her victory via Twitter, writing, "Representative Riner just called to concede. Thank you to every single one of you who be- lieved that we could do it. Great job, folks!"
In an interview with NBCBLK, Scott spoke about the race, her challenger, and what her priorities will be when she takes her seat.
Several sitting members of the Kentucky legislature sup- ported Scott's run.
"It feels amazing to be the first Black women in almost two decades to be elected to the legislature in Frankfort — that's huge. I'm representing a district that is 50% Black and 50% white so that says that people across the district re- gardless of race believed in my leadership and also knew it was time for a new voice and a fresh face," Scott said today.
African American Woman To
Mississippi Town Finally
Ordered To De-Segregate
After 51-Year Legal Battle
Sixty-two years after Brown v. Board of Education found school segregation un- constitutional, a federal court has ordered a Mississippi school district to finally com- plete the process of integra- tion, ruling that the town’s three previous attempts to re- solve its racial divisions were insufficient.
In a 96-page ruling re- leased last Friday, U.S. District Judge Debra Brown ordered the town of Cleveland, Missis- sippi, to integrate its two high schools, one of which is 100 percent black, and its two mid- dle schools, one of which is 99.6 percent black. Cleveland’s racial divide is the legacy of a railroad running through the town, The Washington Post re- ports, splitting its roughly 12,000 residents into a largely white area to the west and a black area to the east. The law-
suit was just one of dozens of open de-segregation cases being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department in Missis- sippi alone, NBC News reports.
ATLANTA UNIVERSITY PROTESTS
PATRICIA GIVENS ...New Appointee in the office of Rep. Kathy Castor
DAMARIS GONZALEZ ...In new position, Constituent Services Rep
ATTICA SCOTT
A group of civil-rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., gathered in 1960 on the campus of Atlanta Univer- sity to join thousands of students who marched and staged sit- ins at local businesses, from lunch counters to department stores. The non-violent student activists hoped to spur the city into integrating lunch counters and ending segregation throughout Atlanta.
Linda Brown stands out- side the racially segregated Sumner Elementary School in Topkea, Kansas in 1953. When her enrollment was blocked, her family initiated the landmark Civil Rights lawsuit 'Brown V. Board of Education.'
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016