Against the Grain II
Wake up Black People! Wake up!
The Leon County Children’s Service Council was created through a referendum on Nov. 3, 2020 with a 65 percent vote in favor of the measure by the residents of Leon County. The purpose of the council is to support children in their early years and take measures to support programs and initiatives that will ensure they are able to matriculate through the educational system.
The second major meeting of the council was held on June 15 at the TCC Center for Innovation. Ten of the 12 appointed council members were present along with a packed house. In fact, seats had to be added during the meeting for the overflow crowd.
The most energetic portion of the meeting was the public comment section, where at least 15 residents spoke to the issue of the council. Erwin Jackson expressed concern and mandated that the council not draw down its entire budget, but to take time to explore exactly where the funds would be best utilized. Lobbyist Barney Bishop echoed the sentiments. Bishop expressed his displeasure that the measure had passed the vote, but would respect the will of the people.
Several other residents expressed their concerns and opinions of both support and disdain for the council and its creation. The recurring concern was the addition of property taxes to fund the council. The referendum provided for funding of the council with ad valorem taxes. The council has until July 1 to submit its proposed budget to the Leon County Tax Collector in order to begin accumulating the funds for its budget.
Not a single Black person, save for Leon County Commissioner Carolyn Cummings and principal Carmen Connor who are members of the council, spoke at the meeting until the end. Leon County School Board member Darryl Jones delivered a passionate speech to the council dispelling the notions that they should pause their actions. He implored the council to execute the will of the people and assist the children of Leon County who are in desperate need of guidance to attain the necessary educational credentials.
It was so obvious that I counted the individuals present. In the room, overflowed with attendees, there were a total of eight Black people. If you exclude the two Black council members, me and my son who were contracted for the event, that leaves four interested Black folks. FOUR!
Here it is, millions of dollars have been appropriated, a council has been put in place to help educate children of Leon County and four Black people showed up! FOUR!
Ask yourself…Who needs assistance? Who needs to be in the room when the decisions are made? Why weren’t Black parents in attendance at the meeting?
The term “woke” has been used a lot over the last couple of years. Black folks have made a hashtag #staywoke that is widely used to symbolize paying attention to what is going on around us. So how did the “woke” folks miss this opportunity? Complaining about how the council decides to spend their money and what initiatives they will undertake have no merit after-the-fact when they begin executing plans that they’ve asked for input on to establish priorities.
You can best believe that the council will act in the direction of the input they’ve received. Our forefathers fought for us to have a seat at the table. Someone, please step up and sit in the seats that were bought with blood, sweat and tears!
