Black leaders cite challenges

FORT LAUDERDALE – County Commissioner Dale Holness presented a litany of sobering statistics Tuesday night as hundreds of black civic leaders, business people and elected officials came together to analyze challenges facing the African-American and Caribbean-American communities in Broward County – and figure out ways to attain improvements.

• Broward’s population of 1.9 million residents is 29 percent black. Of the children living in poverty, 38 percent are black.

• The county has 90 judges. Just 8 – about 9 percent – are black. And black motorists are stopped 1.9 times more than white motorists for seat belt violations.

• The median household income is $74,000 for whites in Broward County and $43,000 for black residents, a gap Holness called a “really stark difference.” The overall unemployment rate last year was 4.4 percent; among black residents it was 9 percent. Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire-Rescue employs more than 800 firefighters. There are 54 black county firefighters, 7 percent of the force.

“Prosperity abounds in many areas. Yet we have many of our residents that for whatever reason have been left behind,” said Holness, chairman of the Broward Black Elected Officials, which sponsored the State of Black Broward conference on political, economic development, employment, criminal justice, health care and education. “We must all be a part of the solution. That means everyone in here.”

About 400 people attended the event at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center.

Many of the issues circled back to political power through voting. Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said, “We’ve got to vote, and we’ve got to be smart about what we’re doing.”

Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, who described her office as “the bedrock and the foundation of whatever goes on the political arena,” said voting is critical. “It is the part that equalizes all of us. Everybody in this room is equal when it comes to what we do” at the elections office. “Voting drives the wheel.”

Many black Floridians aren’t able to vote because of criminal convictions – even after they’ve served their sentences – because Florida doesn’t automatically restore voting rights once felons are out of prison.

Snipes urged anyone who can to apply to for restoration of civil rights. But that’s an exceedingly difficult process, which often doesn’t succeed. Holness and Lauderhill Commissioner Ken Thurston urged people to work on behalf of the effort to get a proposed constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot providing for automatic restoration of civil rights.

State Sen. Perry Thurston said the petition drive for the proposed constitutional amendment is important.

Keith Martin of the Progressive Firefighters Association of South Florida also urged people to apply pressure to elected officials. He decried the lack of diversity in the firefighting service.

MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, right, who described her office as “the bedrock and the foundation of whatever goes on the political arena,” said voting is critical. “It is the part that equalizes all of us,” she said.