NAACP revived

Dear Editor,

After a 10 month suspension, the national and state offices of the NAACP have ordered the St. Petersburg Branch re-opened. A coordinating committee chaired by Harry Harvey has been formed for the sole purpose of recruiting members and coordinating an election that will be held Thurs., Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. at McCabe United Methodist Church, 2800 26th Ave. S., St. Petersburg.

Those joining the night of the election will be eligible to vote, but must have the $30 membership fee in cash. A paid membership entitles you to vote and to run for one of the seats on the executive committee.

If there was ever any doubt that a functioning and effective branch of the NAACP is needed, that question has been answered. Over the last couple of weeks the Tampa Bay Times released their findings on a year-long investigation revealing the fact that Melrose, Campbell Park, Fairmont Park and Maximo Elementary Schools were failing schools.

The story is accurate; however, the slant on the story suggest those schools were  failing because the Pinellas County School Board failed to provide the support to those schools once they became neighborhood schools.  That is only half of the truth. The truth of the matter is the Pinellas County School Board has been disproportionately failing black children for a very long time.

Neighborhood schools simply exposed the problem. What is even more disturbing is that in spite of the chart below being presented at meetings with Congressman David Jolly, Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomlin, Director of Legislative, Education and Intergovernmental Affairs Sally Everett, city councilmembers and the mayor, there are no solutions in sight.

This is why St. Petersburg needs a strong and functioning NAACP to ensure that the traditionally disenfranchised based on race, gender, ethnicity, developmental challenges and sexual orientation, have a voice!

If you have further questions about becoming a member, please contact Harry Harvey at (727) 385-3364!

~ Maria L. Scruggs, CPM