AAA's Civil Rights Trip to Montgomery in the Fall
|
|
Generated by AAA in The Villages, this four day-three night trip from Monday, September 30 to Thursday, October 4 covers an ambitious amount of ground, and the cost covers a whole lot, too. Review those "Highlights/ Inclusions" - nice! - and all the other details in the flyer available at the Download link below. Sorry, the flyer is rather grainy, but all the details and contact info are there.
| montgomery_trip.pdf |
|
Bridges Project Working Groups
The range of issues concerning race relations requires focused attention on key issues. A Working Group is formed when the Board approves the initiative of a leader and an activist team. We have descriptions of the active groups presently. Any of them would be delighted to have you share in their work. Select the Working Groups tab above to learn more.
SPOTLIGHT:
Bridges responds (again) opposing Confederacy honors
 Bridges Board member Gorham Black on the Square - CREDIT: Ocala Star Banner
Following proclamations issued by the Marion County Commission and Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn to honor Confederate Memorial Day, Bridges Project once again protested honoring the Confederacy by public officials and entities. (Individuals and private groups can certainly do whatever they like).
An impromptu Silent Protest was called with participants waving the American flag, the uniting symbol of our nation and people, on Friday, April 26 - the day proclaimed as Confederate Memorial Day - on Ocala's Downtown Square. There was no presence of Confederate flags or supporters. It received media coverage from the Ocala Star Banner which posted a Photo Gallery - click here. and from TV20 which posted a report - click here. The presentation by Bridges Project President "Bert" Perkins to the Ocala Mayor and City Council is in the right column on this page >>. There were also numerous letters to the editor published by the Star Banner in the last few weeks authored by Bridges officers, Board members, and general members. A video response by Treasurer Bruce Seaman to David Stone of Southern Pride is posted at the Archives page - click the tab above. Bridges Project will continue to affirm that no public official or public entity should honor the Confederacy which attempted to found an independent nation based on white supremacy. Confederate symbols have been used ever since as the symbol of white supremacy by all kinds of groups, as in Charlottesville for a recent example. Community dialogue on this subject may subside for a time, but Bridges' stance will always be re-asserted when the occasion calls for it. The Confederacy deserves no honor, certainly not from public officials. Blaze Pond Colored School
Local activist and historian Alonzo Hardy has shared his research about the Blaze Pond Colored School. We thank Mr. Hardy for his dedication to understanding the full history of our community.
Also known as "Colored School No. 12," the actual start of the school in the Blaze Pond School building is not certain. The earliest documented was 1894, but research is ongoing. The building at 11985 NW 100th Street no longer serves as a school. It is privately owned. The school offered classes to black students during the era of segregation. Miss Cecila A. Adams was one of the first teachers in this school. Mr. John H. Dickerson, Mr. John R. Blye, Mrs. Minnie L. Blye, Miss Fanny A. Beatty , Mr. Joseph H. Bonner , and Mrs. Bessie E. Bonner were later teachers in this school. When the school closed, students were transferred to Fessenden School (in 1953 or 1954). Calvin McMahan and Wesley B. Burton served as the supervisor of Blaze Pond School. TOP: Blaze Pond Colored School (Photo: Kevin Boldenow) Images of the school from Google Earth Street View - BELOW. 
|
Statement to Ocala City Council
 TOP: Bridges Project President "Bert" Perkins
BOTTOM: Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn
The statement below was presented by Bridges Project President Avelia "Bert" Perkins to the Ocala City Council in response to Mayor Kent Guinn's proclamation of Confederate Memorial Day:
Ocala has proclaimed itself a city of compassion. The city has invested many years developing an image of itself as a modern, forward-thinking, all-inclusive community through its Racial Harmony and Cultural Awareness Task Force which coordinates the annual Mary Sue Rich One Ocala – One America week each October in an effort to reflect the diversity of our growing community. The Task Force is expanding its outreach significantly, last year hosting the very successful “REACH Across the Table” dinner at which more than 100 community members gathered to discuss issues related to prejudice and problems that reduce trust. These conversations and these efforts continue. The Bridges Project of Ocala-Marion County, a coalition of concerned citizens formed in 2015 to ameliorate race relations in our community, strongly supports the city’s enlightened outreach. Our efforts to discuss the current national divisive climate over race relations was addressed very successfully at the recent Candid Conversations held at the College of Central Florida in February. We thus ask that the city not erode such progress by acceding to a very small group which glories in a romanticized past, a past in which the greater number of our founding families did not share since local Black far exceeded Whites in population at the beginning of the Civil War. (Ed. note: Marion County had Black majority population up to the 1920 census.) There is no rewriting history; clearly the Civil War was fought to maintain an economic stronghold on slavery. Members of the Bridges Project join the city and people of good heart and good will in the wish to honor all Americans who have throughout our history as a still-young nation sought to build and strengthen our national unity. We do so most effectively on Memorial Day, a national holiday on which we dedicate ourselves anew to the continuing effort to become one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. |
To become a member of Bridges Project, please download, print, and complete the form below. Note that an equivalent contribution of volunteer service in a Working Group, for example, can be made in lieu of the monetary payment.
| memapplication-rev3-2019-half_sheet.pdf |
Bridges Project of Ocala/Marion County, Inc. FL DACS Charitable Registration Lic. No. CH-47496
A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Florida Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free from within the state - 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352), or calling from outside Florida - (850) 410-3800. The department's website is www.800helpfla.com. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State.
A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Florida Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free from within the state - 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352), or calling from outside Florida - (850) 410-3800. The department's website is www.800helpfla.com. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State.