Posted on 04/19/2012 11:50:27 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
SANFORD -- City and community leaders held a community meeting Thursday night to discuss the Trayvon Martin case.
Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte and Acting Police Chief Darren Scott attended the meeting, which took place at Second Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.
During the meeting, Sanford leaders rolled out a preliminary nine-point plan aimed to move the community forward. However, several community members felt the most important point was absent. Community members are still calling for the firing of Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee, who has temporarily stepped down.
City Manager Norton Bonaparte defended his decision to not fire Lee.
“The reality of it is that I will be making a decision with Chief Lee regarding the facts, when I have the facts, I'll be in a position to make the decision not only about Chief Lee but about the Sanford Police Department,” Bonaparte explained.
Bonaparte continued that he will wait until he gets the facts from an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice before making any decisions about Chief Lee's job status.
The meeting was scheduled earlier this month after “The Dream Defenders,” a group made up primarily of college students, demanded the meeting while protesting on the steps of the Sanford Police Department.
When the meeting was scheduled on April 9, the group had just completed a 40-mile march from Daytona Beach to Sanford over Easter weekend.
Meanwhile, Dream Defenders Coordinator Vanessa Baden is agreeing with some residents that if Chief Lee is not fired soon by city manager Bonaparte, that Bonaparte should be held responsible and lose his job.
“One person brought it to you and you ignored it, two people brought it to you and you ignored it. Now you have other people from other places coming into the church bringing it to you and you ignore it and at that point you get rid of the person who is ignoring it,” Baden said.
About 40 people attended the meeting, including Martin family Attorney Natalie Jackson. Jackson said she believes in the community meeting process.
“Dialogue is always good and I think that they community will be better. I know a lot of people are seeing the storm but there's going to be a rainbow at the end of this storm,” Jackson said.
Meanwhile, City Manager Bonaparte pledged to continue engaging the community to work on a long term solutions, so that “Trayvon Martin's death will not be in vain.”
Sanford Community Relations Coordinator Andrew Thomas presented the following nine-point plan to community members Thursday night:
1.Request an investigation by the Department of Justice
2.Create a local Human Relations Commission
3.Create a Director of Community Relations Staff Position
4.Create a Community Panel to take a critical look at the Sanford Police Department
5.Create a working relationship with the Florida Commission on Human Relations
6.Create an inter-faith alliance to take a look at issues of race and ethnicity in Sanford
7.Create a youth anti-violence program
8.Set a schedule for general community meetings to address Sanford problems at a neighborhood level
9.Request that the Department of Justice Communications Department facilitate future meetings and engage in community building in Sanford
hmmm history teacher or indoctrination specialist
Ping your list. bttt Here’s a copy of my post on April 9th:
For your records as a result of my tip of the iceberg research:
Let it be known that the “leader” of those “Dream Defender student” marchers is a 30 year old Hispanic (Cuban) who is one of Obama’s foot-soldier “community organizers” from way back with the nickname, “Lefty”:
Gabriel Pendas (Community Organizer)
http://www.northwestbronx.org/staff.html
gabriel@northwestbronx.org
718-584-0515 x551
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Teaching Tolerance is a Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. [An extreme Left-Wing Group. See David Horowitz’ s Discover the Networks expose` of this bunch: http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=1809 ]
Teaching Tolerance
Number 34: Fall 2008
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-34-fall-2008/you-can
Gabriel Pendas
Picture: http://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/cubano.jpg
Gabriel Pendas is the first to admit that his path to political activism was anything but traditional..... Pendas earned his GED after being kicked out of two high schools and going to reform school.
He didn’t have any specific views about politics...[but] After securing admission to Florida State University through an Upward Bound program, Pendas quickly became involved... When looking for leaders, Pendas says, he doesn’t _just_ turn to the elected heads of organizations, but looks for non-traditional leaders like those setting trends in fashion or who know how to throw parties. “Some of the best leaders I found were club promoters,” he said. “They knew how to pull people and resources together.”
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Gabriel M. Pendas MUG SHOT 4/4/2002 Leon Co. (Tallahassee), Fl.
MUG SHOT: http://florida.arrests.org/mugs/Leon/2002/2002_04_04-147650.jpg
http://florida.arrests.org/Arrests/Gabriel_Pendas_3475907/
Gabriel M Pendas
Age: 19 Years Old Sex: M
Birth Date: 7-23-1982 Race: WHITE
Weight: 220 lbsEye Color: BRO
Height: 6’04”Hair Color: BRO
Arrest Information
Arrest Date: 4-4-2002
Arrested By: FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE DEPARTMENT TALLAHASSEE
Total Bond: $1000
Charge 1
STATUTE: 806.13 1B1
[]CHARGE: DAMAGE PROP-CRIM MISCH 200 DOLLARS AND UN/VOP
[]BOND: 1000
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Another Arrest Date 09/13/2003
Gabriel M Pendas
http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/Florida/Leon-County-FL/Gabriel-M-Pendas.6897448/details/
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YouTube VIDEOS:
Video Gabriel Pendas
Uploaded by “The New School” (Promoting Marxism) 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIkb1DNTrq4
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Video “Saying Gabriel Pendas”
Uploaded by arrahman arraheem com on Jun 22, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAuI3t15ukc
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Who is Gabriel Pendas? (2007)
http://www.usstudents.org/who-we-are/staff
DMI Blog:
http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2004/09/gabriel_pendas.html
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Gabriel Pendas - FaceBook - Dream, Dream, Dream
http://www.facebook.com/people/Gabriel-Pendas/5218801
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Gabriel Pendas @GabeDeLaMancha on Twitter
https://twitter.com/#!/GabeDeLaMancha
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Picture https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EzoOAgf95Uc/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAABw/RPbELe744cw/s200-c-k/photo.jpg
Gabriel Pendas “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
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Gabriel Pendas is using Google+. Join Google+ to connect with the people who matter most. See some of those in his circle:
https://plus.google.com/104891768269294717004#104891768269294717004/posts
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Gabriel Pendas belongs to “Change.org”: http://www.change.org/members/201939
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The Famuan News
March draws supporters statewide
By Kendrah Mincey Copy Editor Published: Saturday, April 7, 2012 Updated: Saturday, April 7, 2012 10:04 Tamisha Hawkins
http://www.thefamuanonline.com/news/march-draws-supporters-statewide-1.2726370
Friday, Florida A&M and Florida State students, along with those from other Florida schools, left for “March for the Dream” for Trayvon Martin.
The group, named the Dream Defenders, began the three-day march at Stocking Park in Daytona, Fla., at noon to Sanford, Fla., to “preach for equality, an end to corrupt and unjust law enforcement and Trayvon Martin,” according to the event’s press release.
The Dream Defenders consists of thousands of students from FAMU, FSU, Tallahassee Community College, the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, Florida Memorial University, Bethune-Cookman University and Miami-Dade College.
The group started as a conference call organized by FAMU, FSU and TCC students and alumni, and nurtured the idea of young people working together to defend Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of racial equality.
“This is our time to make history,” said Antonio Hairston, a senior public relations student and a spokesperson for the Dream Defenders. “We are marching not only for Trayvon Martin, but for unity within the races.”
FAMU students met at Bragg Memorial Stadium Friday to board buses, completely sponsored by donations, to Sanford.
According to www.thedreamdefenders.com, the group was founded “on the idea that students and young people must come together, casting aside petty differences and organizational affiliations, to build a true movement of the people.” They consider themselves not an organization, but “an idea that cannot be quelled or silenced.”
The weekend’s activities include a prayer vigil, speak outs and action planning meetings, with participants marching several miles each day.
“Hopefully this march can make some kind of a difference,” said Kenneth Richardson, a fourth-year physical therapy student from Birmingham. “It’s great to see us as Americans stand together, despite race, to fight for justice.”
Seventeen-year-old Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, 28, Feb. 26, and he has yet to be arrested after claiming self-defense.
Although there have not been any arrests in the case, Martin supporters believe that the lack of action is unacceptable.
“[Zimmerman] needs to be in jail,” said Lafayette Adams, a senior advertising student at the University of Florida. “Regardless of the story, he needs to be held responsible.”
Supporters can make donations to the Dream Defenders and find more information about the march and the weekend’s itinerary at www.thedreamdefenders.com. You can also visit group’s Facebook page, facebook.com/dreamdefenders, and Twitter, @MarchForMartin. Please contact Terray Rollins at terrayrollins@yahoo.comor Gabriel Pendas at gabriel.pendas@gmail.com, or 786-899-8329 for other inquiries.
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Gabriel M. Pendas
Florida State University
Lambda Theta Phi - Latin Fraternity
http://www.originallambdas.com/chapters/betaiota/epsilon.php
59 posted on Monday, April 09, 2012 4:54:33 PM by Matchett-PI
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2868925/posts?page=59#59
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