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Features
Riverview Man Killed By Impaired Wrong-Way Driver Was Working
Rodney Keith Jones
was already close to his grand- mother, Ms. Ada Blunt. But, when his father died in 2001 and his mother in 2013, their bond grew even closer.
At 8 p.m. on January 14th, the Florida Highway Patrol re- ports that Jones, 32, was driving his SUV north on U.S. 41 delivering pizzas when he collided head-on with a vehi- cle driven by 56-year-old Jean Ann Petraits.
Troopers said Petraits was traveling south in the northbound lanes of U.S. 41 when the accident occurred. Jones was pronounced dead at the scene. Petraits was hospitalized and reported to be in critical condition.
Troopers said it was deter- mined that Petraits was driv- ing while impaired at the time of the accident.
Ms. Blunt said Jones has no siblings, no children, and
never married.
“He was born and raised in
Tampa, and graduated from East Bay High School.
“While other young teenagers were all wrapped up in sports, Rodney loved cars. He loved anything to do with cars, and could tell you the make and model of any car on sight.”
Ms. Blunt said Rodney preferred working at night, be- cause he wanted to make sure he was always around when she needed to see a doctor or run other errands.
“Rodney didn’t race cars. He just liked repairing them, and he has tons of friends who used to hang around with him.
“Rodney didn’t drink, smoke, use drugs, or hangout with idiots.”
The family has contacted Ray Williams Funeral Home to assist them with arrange- ments.
1,000 Attend TOBA’s Martin Luther King Leadership Breakfast To Hear Tampa Native Challenge Them To ‘Action’
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Today’s leaders ought to “tag” the next generation of leaders and encourage their engagement in the fight for racial equality.
On Monday, keynote speaker, AME Bishop, Adam Jefferson Richardson Jr., handed down this challenge to attendees of the 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Breakfast.
Sponsored by the Tampa Organization of Black Affairs (TOBA), this year’s event drew nearly 1,000 people – includ- ing U. S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Florida State Senator Arthenia Joyner, and County Commissioner Les Miller – to the Hilton Hotel in downtown Tampa.
Other prominent guests in- cluded Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, City Council- man Frank Reddick, and Florida State Rep. Ed Narain.
In his remarks, Rep. Narain urged the audience to focus on what’s possible, rather than what is permissi- ble.
“We must work together to
BISHOP A. J. RICHARDSON, JR.
provide hope, justice, and free- dom to those who do not have a seat at the table many of us sit at today,” he said.
With a presidential elec- tion taking place this fall, it’s “critical” that citizens be regis- tered and mobilized to vote, Council Chair Reddick said.
“We cannot afford, partic- ularly people of color, to be back at the end of the bus,” he said.
Bishop Richardson, a 1965 graduate of Middleton High School, said he knows many of King’s “lieutenants,” including Rev. Joseph Low-
ery.
But he lamented that younger generations aren’t fa- miliar with the names and contributions of the “Moses Generation” of Civil Rights leaders.
That knowledge is crucial at a time when “the absurdity racism...has converged upon Generation Next, driving them to disparity,” he said. “Did anyone get the tags?”
Bishop Richardson said he experienced his first brush with racism as a young boy rid- ing the bus to school here in Tampa.
Initially, he sat in the seat at the front behind the driver because that’s where he felt safest.
But one day, when board- ing the bus for the ride home, two white men motioned for the driver to remove him from his seat.
The driver complied, or- dering the young boy to move to the back of the bus.
The experience was life- changing, Bishop Richard- son said.
“It cut me deeply,” he said. “It left a keloid in my spirit.”
Bishop Richardson said it was years later when he was reflecting on that moment that he realized that he had to “sep- arate Christ from the behavior of alleged Christians.”
“I’m fairly certain sure those men never knew the in- jury they caused a kid,” he said. “After all, what they en- forced was the law.”
The street that Bishop Richardson rode to school now is known as Martin Luther King Boulevard, he said.
Community Activist Dies Following Brief Illness
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Friday, January 15th, a longtime community activist quietly passed away of natural causes. Mrs. Georgia Mae Henry Owens was 96-years- old.
Mrs. Owens dedicated her time and energy to improv- ing the neighborhood where she lived for nearly 70 years. She was an active member of the East Tampa Business & Civic Association, participated in the Crime Watch Program, and was a member of the East Tampa Community Revitaliza- tion Partnership.
Mrs. Owens was also an active member of the New Bethel Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, where she was a Deaconess and a member of the Trustee Board. She was a member of the church for more than 65 years, and a member of the Eastern Stars, Chapter 82.
U. S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor recognized Mrs. Owens as the “2011 Citizen of the Year.” She was 93 at the time.
City Councilman Frank Reddick honored Mrs. Owens for more than 60 years of service to the East Tampa
MRS. GEORGIA MAE HENRY OWENS 2/21/1919 to 1/15/2016
community in December 2013. A native of Calhoun County, Georgia, Mrs. Owens graduated from Edison High School, where she was a mem- ber of the basketball team. She later married the late Saint
Nazeir Owens in 1938.
The couple, who was the parents of 11 children, moved to Tampa in 1942 and pur- chased their East Tampa home
4 years later..
Mrs. Owens is survived
by several of her children, grandchildren, great grandchil- dren, other family members and friends. Wilson’s Funeral Home is in charge of handling arrangements.
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2016