Sheriff Jerry Demings Challenges Black Leaders at the Seminole County Florida NAACP Banquet

The first African American sheriff for Orange County, FL, Jerry L. Demings, challenged black organizations to train the next generation. Sheriff Demings delivered the keynote address for the Seminole County NAACP Annual Freedom Fund & Awards Banquet on June 5.

Sheriff Demings and his wife, Valdez Demings, rose from very humble beginnings to the top of their fields. He is married to the first female police chief in Orlando. They both grew up poor and were the first generation of their families to go to college. Sheriff Demings spoke of his father and mother who were a taxi cab driver and maid. He said when he considers where he is now, it only serves to humble him more and remind him of his responsibility.

During his speech, Sheriff Demings made it his task to remind all of those blacks who have risen to the top to lift others as well. He said that most of us make it in spite of our circumstances. It is our moral responsibility to help someone else. Sheriff Demings warned that with the state of many of our communities, if we don’t reach back to help, we all will regret it. Sheriff Demings cited a few alarming statistics. Three-fourths of those in prison due to drug offenses are people of color. In Orange County, blacks make up 19% of the general population but 54% of the inmate population. “Shame on us. Shame on America,” he said.

He also challenged the NAACP audience to consider the delusion young black males have with professional sports. Many believe a contract with the NFL or NBA is their ticket out. Not only is making it to a team highly unlikely, even those who do make it are not necessarily set for life. Sheriff Demings said Otis Smith, General Manager for the Orlando Magic, shared that 68% of NBA players find themselves broke within five years of retiring. The vast majority of black millionaires are entrepreneurs. Therefore, the logical path to economic advancement and empowerment for black people is business and financial training not an obsessive drive toward athletics.

One of the young people that the NAACP has nurtured and supported came back to show the benefit of the NAACP’s work. Angenique DeJesus received a scholarship from the local branch. She is currently a student at the University of South Florida, pursuing a degree in Bio-Medical Sciences. Her goal is to use her talents to serve.

Not only did the audience hear from current civil servants, they paid tribute to local trailblazers and pioneers of the Civil Rights struggle. The Seminole County NAACP Branch held its very first induction into the Seminole County Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Willie King, Francis Oliver, Edward Blacksheare and Sandra Gaines were all inducted for their contributions to educational and political equality in Seminole County. This ceremony will take place every year. Future inductees can be nominated by contacting the branch at (407) 328-7496.

The Dirty Game of Black Politics: It Didn't Stop with Marion Barry

Is it just me or are there a lot of black political scandals? One politician’s involved in some kind of elections fraud. Another is accepting dirty money. The next is talking dirty on the phone to a staffer. Arrest here. Press conference there. And on and on. I don’t know if black politicians have more dirty laundry or if the laundry stinks more to me because they are black. (Or if, as the politicians involved seem to think, black laundry gets riffled through unfairly). In any case, it all still smells.

One recent case in Orlando is particularly fishy to me. This time it involves two black politicians at the same time, Daisy Lynum and would be challenger Ezell (E-Z) Harris. Yes, he calls himself E-Z. Anyway, Lynum has held the City Commission seat for 12 years. Earlier this year, at a Tea Party Express rally, Harris announced he would do everything he could to unseat her. He bought the rights to her name on the Web. So if you go to http://www.daisylynum.com/, you will find all sorts of mudslinging against Lynum. Harris is no dummy. He calls her “Crazy Daisy" among other things. He says she’s corrupt and he wants her gone.

When I saw this, I thought this was just another case of politics having black folk acting silly and fighting each other over scraps. There is a black seat or two in just about every district that all the black politicians have to fight for. It can get ugly. This time it really did.

But it gets uglier and stinkier. Right after Harris qualified to run against Lynum, Harris gets arrested for selling drugs. Okay, pump the brakes here please. Harris was running as a conservative who was going to clean up politics in Orlando, put a stop to corruption and enforce drug laws. Of course, Lynum was crushed, right? Not. This was right on time for her. In fact, it seems to be a little too on time for her. The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigations was investigating Harris for months. However, they waited until after he qualified to run against Lynum to arrest Harris. Of course, Lynum and her supporters say this is just a fortunate coincidence. But Lynum knew all about the drug investigation. Actually, more than that, she had reported a tip to the police that Harris was selling drugs. Harris is calling the whole thing a set up. He also owns the Orlando Police Chief’s name on the Internet. So Harris thinks Lynum, Val Demings and the entire Orlando Police Department are all involved in a big conspiracy to ruin Harris’ campaign and shut him up. He decided to pull back on campaigning so as not to tarnish the political process. Way too late.

Look, I know politicians are human beings. They get weak and make mistakes. But when one decides to seek office, that politician is seeking something higher. They are professing to represent the image, needs and will of their constituents. Often, black politicians represent mostly black constituents. Black people have many issues to deal with in our communities, drugs, violent crime, educational problems and so on. Commissioner Lynum represents (and Harris is seeking to represent) the downtown Orlando area, which includes the Parramore district. They need people to fight for them. Politicians, we need people who can fight for us. How can a politician fight for us if he or she is spending so much time and money fighting criminal investigations and scandalous allegations? Please leaders, try your best to stay above reproach at least during your campaign and term of office. We don’t want to hear about your infidelity, drug use, late night phone calls or abuse of power (using your title to get out of parking tickets and such). There is too much work to be done.