Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 10-31-17

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Effort Underway To Put Historical Marker In Front Of Old Woolworth Store In Downtown Tampa
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
At the intersection of Polk Street and Florida Av- enue sits a three-story build- ing with boarded windows and plant life growing out of spaces between the bricks.
But what looks like any other abandoned edifice was 57 years ago the site of a his- toric event that fueled civil rights activism in Tampa.
The famous Woolworth sign and the long lunch counters are long gone. Newspaper clippings and the memories of those who were there are the only evi- dence of the events of that day.
That could change soon, thanks to The Tampa Wool- worth Project, an initiative to get a historical marker placed in front of the old Woolworth building.
The marker will tell the story of Clarence Fort, a leader of the Tampa NAACP’s Youth Council who – on Feb. 29, 1960 – led 50 students from Blake and Middleton High Schools in a sit-in at the five-and-dime store.
The brainchild of jour- nalist, Tammie Fields, the project was presented at last month’s meeting of the Hillsborough County His- torical Advisory Council.
The feedback from coun- cil members was positive, bringing the project’s mis- sion one step closer to fruition, Fields said.
But aside from the coun- cil’s approval – which is a couple of months away – there’s also a financial goal that needs to be met.
Costs associated with the marker are more than
Clarence Fort, Tammie Fields and Arthenia Joyner, Esquire.
The old F. W. Woolworth’s building that sits on the corner of Florida Ave. and Polk St.
$2,000. A GoFundMe page created to raise money for it shows a total of $645 col- lected.
Funds are trickling in slowly, but Fields said she’s confident the marker will go up – ideally next February, right in time for the sit-in’s 58th anniversary.
The history behind it and the people involved – like Fort – is too important to go publicly unacknowl- edged, she said.
“I am willing to eat the cost,” Fields said. “I just want to see that marker up and finished. I don’t care how much it costs.”
Fields, who resides in Lakeland, was a reporter and anchor for several years at WTSP in Tampa before joining Orlando’s News 13.
The marker campaign satisfies Fields’s final proj- ect requirement for her graduate studies program at the University of South Florida – St. Petersburg.
But its roots go back fur- ther, to the many times Fields would see Fort while reporting in the com- munity.
Fields said she often would ask Fort if there was
any effort underway to put a marker at the site of the sit- in. Every time, Fort would say no, she said.
When the time came for Fields to choose a subject for her final project, she knew the sit-in was the per- fect choice.
The mission is personal for Fields whose interest in journalism was sparked while viewing a story about the 1921 race riot in her hometown of Tulsa, Okla., on “60 Minutes.”
“I didn’t know anything about it,” she said. “I was embarrassed.”
Fields said throughout her 27-year career, she’s tried to shine a light on civil rights issues, activists, and events.
“I almost take it personal to have the opportunity to tell these peoples’ stories,” she said. “I feel I have a re- sponsibility to get their sto- ries and tell them.”
Fort said he’s glad Fields has included him in her efforts to secure the
Free Session
marker, a cause that is “long overdue.” Former state Sen. Arthenia Joyner also is helping with the project.
The trio now are search- ing for the students who par- ticipated in the sit-in so that their names are part of the marker.
While Fort’s name is for- ever linked to that historic day, the students deserve the same recognition, he said.
“It’s not about me,” he said. “I want it to be about them.”
One of those students was Joyner, who said she clearly remembers that day.
Recruited by George Edgecomb – the first African American judge in Hillsborough County – Joyner said she was anx- ious to join the sit-in.
“Here was an opportunity to say ‘(discrimination) has got to stop’,” she said. “As a young person, I was so ex- cited to be asked to be a part.”
Joyner said she hopes
the marker will inspire young people today to re- main vigilant against racial injustice.
“(Young people are) car- rying on the fight that was started on that last day of February in 1960,” she said. “Here we are in 2017 and the fight is just as great.”
The Tampa
Woolworth Project The Tampa Woolworth Project is looking for stu- dents who participated in the historical sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counters. If you or someone you know was involved, visit http://www.tammiefields.co m/tpawoolworth and fill out a contact form. Or, you can send an email to
fortlaw4@aol.com.
If you would like to do-
nate to The Tampa Wool- worth Project, visit https://www.gofundme.co m/woolworthproject.
(Photo Credit: Tam- mie Fields/The Tampa Woolworth Project)
Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council
To Join Community Experts For
FREE Session On Addiction
The Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council will join community experts for a FREE educational session on addiction from 6 p. m. to 8 p. m. on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at the David M. Barksdale Center in Macfarlane Park. Tampa teens, their parents and other interested individuals are invited to attend.
The session is sponsored by the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council, a program of the City of Tampa, allowing teens to develop leadership skills while engaging in local government.
Three panelists, Dr. Antoinette Hagley, Mrs. Barbara Tripp, and Mr. Doug Morgan, are scheduled to discuss teen addiction, the opioid epidemic, and treatment options. The panelists will take questions from the audience.
While the event is free, reservations are required by November 1, 2017 and may be made by contacting Molly Biebel, Youth Development Coordinator, at 813-274-5909 or via email at molly.biebel@tampagov.net.
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017