A Sunshine Meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m., tomorrow, Monday, September 14, 2020 regarding the renaming of the Miami International Airport. The meeting is between Commissioners Esteban Bovo, Vice-Chairwoman Rebecca Sosa and Chairwoman Audrey Edmonson. We don’t know any additional details. There was a previous attempt in 2018 by Commissioner Jean Monestime to rename the airport after Former City of Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre. Commissioner Sosa objected; the airport is located in her commission district.

Meeting details are in the notice below.   

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE IS GIVEN that a Sunshine Meeting between the Honorable Commissioner Esteban L. Bovo, Jr., Miami-Dade County Commissioner, District 13; the Honorable Audrey M. Edmonson, Chairwoman, Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, District 3; and the Honorable Rebeca Sosa, Vice-Chairwoman, Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners, District 6, is scheduled for Monday, September 14, 2020, at 1:00 p.m., to discuss Miami International Airport Renaming. This meeting will only be held virtually utilizing communications media technology made permissible pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Orders.

Interested parties may:

(1) Join the meeting live online to speak where permissible or listen to the meeting by registering in advance at: https://miamidade.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4iY3NPRdTdyoXP8D3YmawA. Zoom registration will be available beginning September 10, 2020;

(2) Call into the live meeting by phone to speak, if permissible, or listen to the meeting by dialing in at: US Toll-free 877-853- 5247 or 888-788-0099 and using Meeting ID: 992 5401 6580; to avoid delays you may register in advance at https://miamidade.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4iY3NPRdTdyoXP8D3YmawA

(3) if you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may join the meeting using Florida Relay Service by dialing 711 on your telephone.

1. Miami-Dade County provides equal access and equal opportunity in its programs, services and activities and does not discriminate on the basis of disability. To request materials in accessible format, a sign language interpreter, Communication Access Real-time Translation services, and/or any other accommodation to participate in any County meeting, please contact Lenna Borjes, (305) 375-5380, [email protected] at least three days in advance of the meeting to initiate your request. TTY users may also call 711 (Florida Relay Service).

If you have any questions or require additional information regarding the virtual meeting, please contact Lenna Borjes at the Office of Commissioner Esteban Bovo, Jr. (DIST. 13) at (305) 375- 5380 or send an email to: [email protected]. (Due to COVID -19, staff is currently working remotely, but will respond within a reasonable period of time to messages which have been received).

HARVEY RUVIN, CLERK

MELISSA ADAMES, DEPUTY CLERK

See Public Notice below. A Public Hearing has been scheduled to be held on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at 9:30 AM, to address issues including the establishment of a West Grove Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and to prepare a community development plan for the area. The meeting will be webcast. See instructions to participate by Zoom or by phone. 

As reports from around the United States confirm what many have suspected -- blacks are hardest hit by the coronavirus global pandemic, the NAACP has partnered with BET to present the 4-week community program, ”Unmasked: A COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall Series”.

The  first virtual town hall will be presented this Wednesday, April 8 at 8pm ET, 5pm PT. Part one of the four-part series will feature a candid discussion on the health, mental, and economic tolls this crisis has had on our communities and how people of color can apply pressure to ensure the congressional response to this pandemic is equitable.

Click here to register online. 

The general meeting of the Miami-Dade Branch of the NAACP will take place 7 p.m., Monday, June 18, 2018 at the New Way Praise & Worship Center, 16800 NW 22 Avenue, Miami Gardens, FL 33056. The meeting is open to the public and new members are appreciated. 

The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most influential civil rights organization in the nation. If you want to make a difference in the community, don’t miss this meeting. Everyone is welcome.

South Florida will be the first market in a national roll out across the country. Residents throughout South Florida are invited to attend the launch to learn about opportunities to serve as ambassadors for their communities, participate in Airbnb’s local Experiences program, and have the opportunity to sign up as a Host.

Free RSVP at naacp-airbnb.eventbrite.com 

Saturday, May 19

11am - 2pm

Betty T. Ferguson Complex

3000 NW 199th St, Miami Gardens

For more information, email [email protected]

Come out and get informed on the Miami-Dade County Public Schools budget for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year. This is all the more important as Florida Governor Rick Scott has called a Special Legislative Session for June 7 - 9. 

Public education can be saved through an informed, engaged and proactive citizenry. Don’t miss your opportunity to ask questions; get informed and network with other concerned citizens.

The County is updating the Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP) to guide growth for the next 20 years. This comprehensive assessment only occurs every seven years. Your input is needed. Your vision can make a positive impact on the future of the County. 

Visit the EAR2018 website to learn more about the process, take the EAR survey and find a public workshop in your area: www.miamidade.gov/planning/ear-2018.asp.

Public Town Hall Workshops will be starting on June 6, 2017.

Survey: Take the EAR2018 survey!

[email protected]

http://www.miamidade.gov/planning/ear-2018.asp

Attend one of the meetings listed below: 

REMEMBER: You're either at the table or you're on the menu!

At the upcoming School Board Meeting on March 15, District 1 School Board Member and Role Model, Dr. Steve Gallon III, will salute 62 Miami-Dade County Public School students who comprise the 2017 graduating class of the 5000 Role Models known as Wilson Scholars. He will also recognize the invaluable contributions of school social workers and March, as National Social Work Month.

The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, founded in 1993 by then-Miami-Dade County School Board Member, Dr. Frederica S. Wilson, now a member of the United States House of Representatives. A dropout prevention program, the mission of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project is to intervene in the lives of at-risk youth and provide them with alternatives to dropping out of school and self-destructive behaviors. The program pairs male students, ages 9-19, with successful professional adult mentors, who provide them with advice, guidance, and educational assistance.

This year, Wilson Scholars in Miami-Dade County include students from the following senior high schools: Booker T. Washington, Coral Gables, Coral Reef, Felix Varela, Miami Beach, Miami Carol City, Miami Coral Park, Miami Jackson, Miami Lakes Educational Center, Miami Norland, Miami Northwestern, Miami Palmetto, North Miami Beach, South Dade and William H. Turner Technical Arts. Since the inception of the program, over $10 million in scholarships have been awarded to graduating seniors.

The primary mission of the School Social Work profession is to enhance well-being and help meet the basic needs of all students, especially the most vulnerable or at-risk. School Social Workers embody the theme of this year’s National Social Work Month Theme, “Social Workers Stand Up!, and School Social Work Week on March 6-10, 2017, “Be The Change” by working with students, parents, schools, and local entities to improve and maintain a safe learning environment and empowering students to reach their academic and social/emotional potential.

For over 100 years, school social workers have provided services to students who face serious challenges to school success, including poverty, disability, discrimination, abuse, addiction, bullying, loss of a loved one, and other barriers to learning. School Social Workers also advocate ensuring equal rights for all students, including females, African-Americans, Latinos, people who are disabled, people who are LGBTQ and various ethnic, cultural and religious groups.

The next School Board Meeting is Wednesday, March 15, 2017, at 11:00 a.m., in the School Board Administration Building Auditorium at 1450 Northeast Second Avenue, Miami, FL 33132.

National NAACP Leadership, Charter and Public School Advocates to Discuss Impact of Charters on Underfunded School Districts

ORLANDO, FL – A new NAACP task force studying education quality will hold its third of at least seven national hearings on the impact of charter schools on underfunded school districts. The task force will take input from advocates, teachers, parents, and policy experts on Friday.

The National Task Force for Quality Education, along with Florida State Conference of the NAACP, will host its latest in a series of national public hearings concerning public education quality and the impact of charter schools on underfunded school districts from 2 p.m. – 7p.m. on Friday, Jan 27.

“In our communities all around the nation, public education has always been the fountain of opportunity; we, unintentionally let it run dry,” said NAACP CEO and President Cornell William Brooks. “Ensuring that underfunded districts are not disparately impacted by the growth of charters or privatization has always been a priority for the NAACP.”

NAACP Board Chair Roslyn Brock sees these hearings as a continuation of the NAACP’s push for equal opportunity.

“The NAACP historically and today remains in the forefront of the struggle for equal opportunity and advocates for free high-quality, fully funded and equitable public education for all children,” said Chairwoman Brock, Chairman of the National NAACP Board of Directors. “We are dedicated to eliminating the severe racial inequities that continue to plague the education system.”

This event is the third hearing organized by the NAACP’s National Task Force for Quality.

The task force was created in October after board members approved a moratorium on expanding public charter school funding until safeguards are in place to provide better transparency regarding accountability, and to prevent cases of fraud and mismanagement.

The hearing for the NAACP Taskforce Florida Hearing on Quality Education and Hosted by Florida State Conference NAACP will be on Friday, January 27, 2017  at the Rosen Centre Hotel, 9780 International Drive, Orlando, FL beginning at 2 p.m.      

The first task force hearing was held in early December in New Haven, CT and the second on Jan. 10 in Memphis, TN. Future hearings are planned in Detroit, MI; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY and New Orleans.

Educators, administrators, parents, students, elected officials, and education policy experts from throughout Florida, and NAACP officials from around the nation will participate in the hearing.

"The issue of school funding and accountability are not just Florida or Orlando issues, but issues which affect our communities around the nation. We owe it to our communities to take a deep look at the issues facing public schools as well as the pros and cons of charter schools," said Adora Obi Nweze, NAACP Task Force member and President of the NAACP’s Florida State Conference.

Invited key participants include:

• Chancellor Herschel Lyons, Florida Department of Education
• Randi Weingarten , President, American Federation of Teachers
• James Hare, President and Chief Technology Officer , Wayne State University Research Park  Detroit, Michigan
• Dr Karega Rausch, Vice President , Research and Evaluation NACSA, Chicago, IL
• Hilary Shelton, Senior Vice President, NAACP Washington Bureau
• Victor Goode, Interim Director, NAACP Education Department
• Rev/Dr. Russell Meyer , Executive Director, Florida Council of Churches
• Robert Runcie, Superintendent Broward County Schools, Broward County, FL
• Joanne McCall, President, Florida Education Association ( Affiliate of AFT and NEA)
• Atty. Jodi Siegel, Southern Legal Counsel
• Dr. Rosa Castro Feinberg, Florida League of United Latin  American Citizens ( LULAC)
• Brendien Mitchell, Member, NAACP  National Board of Directors; President , Youth and College Division  FL State Conference
• Jianna Green , Former,  Charter and Public School Student
• Chenoah Rucker, President , Marion County Youth Council  Ocala, FL
• David L. Watkins, EdS, Director, Equity and Academic Attainment Broward County Schools , Broward County , FL
• Dr. Amanda Wilkerson, Post Doctoral Associate Urban Teacher Initiatives Program Director College of Education and Human Performance University of Central Florida
   

National NAACP Leadership and other notables include:

• Roslyn Brock, Chairman, NAACP National  Board of Directors
• Adora Obi Nweze, Member, NAACP National Board of Directors, President, NAACP Florida State Conference, Member, NAACP Quality Education Taskforce
• Minister Jabari Paul, Member , NAACP Florida Quality Education Hearing Planning Committee
• Kran Riley, Area Director, NAACP FL State Conference
• Atty. David Honig, Special Counsel, NAACP FL State Conference
• Dr. Barbara Jenkins School Superintendent, Orange County Schools
• Bruce Antoine, FL State Representative District 46, Orlando, FL
• Alice Huffman , Member, NAACP National Board of Directors ; President, NAACP California-Hawaii State Conference; Chair, NAACP Quality Education Taskforce
• Leon W. Russell, Vice Chairman, NAACP  National  Board of Directors
• Presiding- Dr. Shirley B. Johnson, Chair, Education Committee , NAACP FL State Conference; President, NAACP Miami-Dade Branch                   

“Our goal is bringing people from our community together from both sides, so we can better understand the impact of charters on school funding and be sure that we have a clear say in the ways that decisions about public schools are made,” said Alice Huffman, chairman of the task force and president of the California State Conference of the NAACP.

Visitors who wish to speak at the hearing are asked to pre-register before the session begins. To accommodate the public, individual speakers may be asked to adhere to a time limit or to appoint a representative to speak on behalf of a group.  

Miami-Dade County Commission Chair Jean Monestime is hosting a free day-long community conference to bring together black Miamians of all backgrounds and nationalities to discuss issues affecting the African diaspora and to develop a collective action oriented agenda. County Commissioners Barbara Jordan, Audrey Edmonson and Dennis Moss, and Miami City Commission Chairman Keon Hardemon are co-hosting the conference.

The “ONE HERITAGE: State of Black Miami” community forum conference will take place on Thursday, April 7 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Florida Memorial University, Smith Conference Center, 15800 NW 42nd Ave., Miami Gardens, FL 33054. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

This activity is long overdue. If applied and executed with genuine concern for the potential of the collective rather than other individualized agendas, this could be the tipping point for realizing advancement of blacks throughout this community. Hopefully, assignments with deadlines and follow-up will result from this conference. There have been far too many forums in this community that have largely only been opportunities for residents to vent frustrations.  

Please make every effort to participate in “ONE HERITAGE: State of Black Miami” if you are concerned about the current and future of blacks in Miami. 

For more information or to RSVP, call 305-694-2779, email [email protected], or visit www.stateofblackmiami.org #SOBM2016

 @vbyers