Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 5-1-18

Local
Governor Names 3 For Florida Civil
Annual Community Balancing, Harmony Tea Planned
Rights Hall Of Fame
MARVIN DAVIES
REV. DR. WILLIE OLIVER WELLS, SR.
ATTY. JOHN DORSEY DUE, JR.
PAULETTE WALKER Founder of Annual Community Balancing and Harmony Tea
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
New Height Destiny, Inc., will host its Third Annual Community Bal- ancing and Harmony Tea on Saturday, May 5th. It will take place from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., at the Robert Saunders Library, 1505 N. Ne- braska Avenue, 33602.
This is the third year,
Ms. Paulette Walker,
CANDY LOWE Mistress of Ceremony
DEBORAH BARNES President Gamma Theta Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority ...Guest Speaker
TAMARA SHAMBURGER Guest Speaker
ARTEST NEWKIRK First Lady, St. John Cathedral ...Guest Speaker
Governor Rick Scott recently selected three individuals to be in- ducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. They were chosen from a list of 10 semi-finalists created by the Florida Commission on Human Relations. The inductees made sig- nificant contributions to the im- provement of life for minorities.
The inductees are:
Marvin Davies was a native of Bradford County, born in 1934. He died April 25, 2003. Davies served in the United States Army, and then attended Florida A&M University, where he received his degree, rank- ing second in his class.
While at Florida A&M University, he joined civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and participated in protests in Tallahas- see, St. Augustine, and Montgomery, Alabama. Davies also worked as a coordinator of vocational counseling and job development and placement in a training program sponsored by the United States Department of Labor.
In 1966, Davis was named field secretary and then executive director of the Florida State Conference of the National Association for the Ad- vancement of Colored People (NAACP). He also served as a special assistant to Governor Bob Gra- ham and was state coordinator of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Founda- tion.
Dr. Reverend Willie Oliver Wells, Sr., was born in Miami in 1931 and died on November 4, 2015. After serving the United States Army, Wells received his bachelor’s degree from Fisk University and a Bachelor of Theology degree from the Ameri- can Baptist Theological Seminary in 1955.
In 1959, Wells was selected as pastor at Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, in Cocoa. He served as president of NAACP Brevard County Chapter spearheading the
1960s Civil Rights Movement in Bre- vard County. Wells also served as chairman of the Redevelopment Commission of the City of Cocoa.
Among his many accomplish- ments, Wells established the Com- munity Action Agency of Brevard, providing low-income day care cen- ters, and constructed low-rent apart- ment complexes in Merritt Island and Melbourne. He also led the St. Paul Baptist Church in building a new $1.2 million church complex. Wells was also a Freedom Rider who led non-violent civil protests and an original member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
John Dorsey Due, Jr., was born in Indiana in 1934 and moved to Florida to attend Florida A&M Uni- versity, Law School in 1960. Upon graduation, Due worked as an attor- ney in Mississippi on behalf of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, monitoring civil rights activities and violence against civil rights activists to report to the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights.
He worked as an attorney for the Congress of Racial Equality in part- nership with the NAACP Legal De- fense Fund and helped to pioneer the tactic of moving civil rights cases to federal court so that clients would not be subject to Southern state courts. Due later moved to Miami and worked with Legal Services, the Miami-Dade County Community Re- lations Board and Community Action Agency.
He was also the head of the county’s Office of Black Affairs. Due received the Eleventh Judicial Circuit and Dade County Bar Pro Bono Award, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, “Distinguished Barrister Award” from the Annual Convention of Southern Leadership Conference, and the Miami-Dade Branch of the NAACP Adams-Powell Civil Rights Award for outstanding community involvement.
founder of New Height
Destiny, has hosted the
event, entitled “Community Balanc- ing and Harmony Tea,” which is des- ignated for mothers, guardians, and their daughters, ages 9 to 18. The theme is “The Blueprint of Life.”
cusing on educational enrichment, scholarships, promoting health awareness of diseases affecting African Americans, family strength- ening, environmental ownership and global impact.
Ms. Barnes received a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from Tennessee State University in 1978.
Guest Speaker, Elder Artest Newkirk currently serves as the First Lady of St. John Cathedral.
Ms. Walker, who is the Presi- dent and founder, said “We have had students from our program enroll in the CROP Program. Miss Teenage Tampa Royal McIntyre is a mem- ber of New Height Destiny.
“Rick Kinsey is the program’s Education Advisor, and a member of the Board of Directors. His goal is to make sure all the children are on point SAT/ACT test and scores for college,” Ms. Walker said.
She further said New Height Des- tiny, Inc., will host its Red Carpet Gala on June 23rd.
There will be three guest speakers for the tea. They are:
Ms. Tamara Shamburger, vice chair of the Hillsborough County School Board.
A Tampa native, Ms. Sham- burger graduated from Blooming- dale High School. She continued her education at Hillsborough Commu- nity College, where she earned a Lib- eral Arts degree, and a B. A. degree in Political Science from the University of South Florida.
She earned her Master’s of Busi- ness Administration from St. Leo University.
Ms. Shamburger was elected to the School Board in 2016.
Guest speaker Deborah Barnes is the current president of Gamma Theta Omega chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She serves the community through her Sorority, fo-
PAGE 8 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018