By Roger Caldwell
The Democratic Black Caucus of Florida (DBCF) held its 39th annual state conference on May 20-22, at the Rosen Centre Hotel, in Orlando Florida. This was an amazing, exciting and educational conference with educational workshops, inspiring speeches, a Florida Democratic state gubernatorial candidates’ forum, networking, eating and the fabulous gala.
The theme of the conference was entitled, “Ain’t No Stopping US Now” and throughout the entire conference there appeared to be a spirit of growth with a vision of action and power. There are now 28 chapters across the state of Florida, with a goal to have chapters in all 67 counties.
The new president, Trevor Mallory, started the Friday press conference/ speech by invoking a spirit of positive work, education, and a need for unity. “I ran on a campaign which was to get as many of the 2 million African Americans we represent across the state, to get them to the poll box. Strategically in the street Black men usually ask the question, why should I vote?”
“It is no secret that Black women are the back-bone of the Democratic Party, statewide and nationally. My goal is to demand action, and increase the number of Black males to vote in the state.” The president has a goal to rebrand the caucus and at the end of the conference, everyone should see and feel successful forward movement.
The next speaker at the Press Conference/speech was Jordan Pride 1st Vice-President started off by wishing everyone “Happy Emancipation Day” even though we are not free in America. “America wants to right its wrongs with quick fixes, instead of confronting the true issues at hand.” From the very beginning of this speech to the end Vice-President Pride spoke truth to power with a message from our ancestors. She gave everyone their marching orders and speeches got better with more focus and power.
“I want to make it clear that no one is coming to save us. We have to save ourselves.” says Sen. Shevrin Jones – President Biden HBCU Board of Advisors. Senator Jones made it clear that there is too much work that needs to be done, and we must form coalitions. Also he emphasized in order to get more Blacks to the polls and increase our numbers; our community must trust the legislators.
There was a president’s reception after the press conference with food and drinks, and the candidates running for office got an opportunity to talk about their platform, and Friday ended on a high note.
On Saturday, there were many different educational workshops, starting with VAN training, Legislation and how it Impacts You, A women and men’s Roundtable Discussion, and finally a Florida State governor’s candidate forum which was well attended, and very informative.
The host of the forum was Dr. Karen Green, who is a political strategist, humanitarian and social justice advocate. The 2022 Democratic gubernatorial candidates for the state of Florida are Nikki Fried, Commissioner of Agriculture, Charlie Crist, U.S. Representative, and Annette Taddeo, Florida State Senator. Rep. Crist did not attend the forum, but the two ladies were passionate, aggressive, knowledgeable and informative.
The final event on Saturday was the gala, where the food was excellent and the speakers were energized. Former Florida State Attorney, Aramis Ayala was the mistress of ceremonies and has dedicated her life to the pursuit of justice. The gala keynote speaker was Bakari Sellers, who is a lawyer at Strom Law Firm LLC in Columbia, S.C.
In his keynote speech, Mr. Sellers talked about how far we have come, and how far we have to go. It was an excellent speech and near the end he talked about his father, a civil rights leader Cleveland Sellers, and how it has impacted his life. In 2006, Bakari made history by being the youngest South Carolina state legislator, at 22 in the nation.
The keynote speaker was powerful and after his speech Aramis Ayala gave a fiery speech that had the attendees clapping and getting up out of their seats. There were two days of a clarion call from our ancestors and the folks at the conference were motivated and understood the importance of the conference and the work needed to win in 2022.
On Sunday Nikki Fried make a statement; “I listened and spoke with many Black Democrats about their concerns, and laid out my plan to stand with them, and uplift Florida’s Black community. And I’m so proud to announce that, at the end of the conference they (DBCF) officially endorsed my campaign to be your next Governor and bring something new to Florida.
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