Small turnout doesn’t deter Frenchtown clean up mission

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer

There wasn’t the usual thick crowd. The turnout was big enough, though, for the Urban League to accomplish what it has always done annually during Martin Luther King Day of Community Service – clean up Frenchtown.

In the process, Mayor John Dailey got a chance to chat with residents, while eight officers from Tallahassee Police Department heard complains about trash pile up and other public safety concerns.

The recent event also doubled as an opportunity for the Urban League to push for reducing hesitancy to the COVID-19 vaccine.

The camaraderie with residents of the neighborhood seemingly made the day for Maurice Holmes, deputy TPD chief. He and the seven officers on bikes heard a lot, he said.

“Listening to people who talked one-on-one with us is what I call humanizing this uniform and badge that we wear,” Holmes said. “It wasn’t like we were trying to enforce a law or get people to come into compliance. It was conversation; just communicating and that’s what it’s all about.

“We are our community so to be out here is what we are supposed to do. To be a community policing agency, you’ve got to be with your community. To be out here to pick up trash and just talk to people one-on-one is invaluable.”

One of the complaints that Holmes said he heard was the anguish of residents who said they’ve witnessed people tossing empty soda cans along some roadways. Others were concerned about a vacant property on Central Street that was littered with trash.

“I’m glad I was here to see it first-hand,” Holmes said. “Now I know how to follow up to bring some resolution into their quality of life.”

As part of the celebration of Martin Luther King, the Taylor House, an African American Museum on Georgia Street that is listed on the National Historical Registry, was open for tours. Participants received free mask, a package of COVID-19 information and a ticket to win $200 toward the winner’s utility bill.

Curtis Taylor, president of the Urban League, said two families were selected for assistance with their utility bill at a time when the city has stopped its moratorium on late payment.

“There are still a lot of people that fell through the cracks,” Taylor said.

Taylor went on to make a pitch for vaccination against the COVID-19.

“We are trying to do everything we can to convince people that the shot is safe,” he said. “Don’t hesitate; you need to make the right choice because if you catch COVID you could die. The shot is safe. 

“We don’t need to look back in the Jim Crow era or that Tuskegee (syphilis study).”

Participants in the clean up covered several streets in the area, including Dunn, Dent, Dover, Delaware, Preston, and Dewey, Woodward and Central. They also hit some side streets.

Dailey, who was in the midst of it, acknowledged Frenchtown’s legacy of being a front-porch community.

“We tend to forget that Frenchtown is the oldest continuous African American neighborhood in the state of Florida,” he said. “We love it. We cherish it. It’s great to come out and pick up trash. 

“Truth is; all neighborhoods need assistance picking up trash and it’s a great way to come out and get involved in your city and neighborhood.”

The Urban League relied on a lengthy list of sponsors, including Piggly Wiggly Supermarket, to make the event happen. Roy Moore, owner of the grocery store and a member of the Urban League, said he didn’t hesitate when Taylor brought the idea to him.

“That was right down my alley,” Moore said. “I think we need this kind of activity in our community. I was very glad to participate in it.”

The idea for hosting an annual clean up was inspired by what King stood for, said Jerome Jones, chairman of the organization’s board of directors.

“We take seriously the work of Dr. Martin Luther King. He was a tremendous servant and it’s obvious that he believed in helping others,” Jones said. “He believed in his people. He believed in justice. He believed in peace and we have to keep his dream alive.

“It is our hope that the people seeing us working to clean up their communities is planting a seed for them to see how their communities look if it’s kept up. Hopefully they will feel the need to do that for themselves.”