Where do we go from here?

A Message From The Publisher

By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.

      Before I begin on my focus for this week’s article, I must ask, “where do we go from here?” Elections bring out the best and the worst of people, be it from leadership or voters. The Yin and the Yang has been caught up in the tic and the toc. When will we learn that social media should be a tool and not a toy expression which presented can be misrepresented to what you intended. It can be a cowardly way for one to throw rocks and hide their hand (so they think). There has been a lot of unreported, overlooked, and flat-out disregard for the misbehaviors of leadership in our schools and on our school board.

It seems that after every election season, people swear that if certain politicians get into power or others don’t, our situation may be doom and gloom. This season we heard things like: Democracy is on the ballot, inflation and the economy are on the American people’s minds and a woman’s right to make decisions about her body are at stake.

When it is all said and done, the question is where do we go from here? How do we make the results work? How do we galvanize for a different result next election cycle if we didn’t get what we needed during this one?

We have to start by planning. I’m reminded of the 6 Ps: Propper Planning Prevents P(ist) Poor Performances. Have we not learned from the debacle of the election to replace the late Congressman Alcee Lamar Hastings, who represented Florida’s 20th congressional district? As Blacks we struggle to consistently elect and maintain strong representatives of our community in political seats. It has always been hard, but it has become increasingly harder over the last decade. For example, it is important that we have Black judges on the bench at every level to ensure representation. Yet, you don’t hear talk about a very focused effort to get it done. Our Jewish brothers and sisters recognized this need some years ago and they developed a plan to ensure representation at the local, state, and federal level. If you walk down the halls of any courthouse or look on the ballot, you see an over-abundance of Jewish related sir names, no racial profiling intended. They put together a plan and work the plan every election cycle.

As Blacks we have become increasingly divided and while our diversity is a strength to be proud of, we have made it a very cumbersome and a steep hill to climb. We are not just Black. We are Black Americans. We are Caribbean American. Within the Caribbean Americans we have the Haitians, Jamaicans, Bahamians, Trinnys….

We are a diverse and mixed race, but we present physically as just Black. Within all these subsets of Blackness we sometimes separate ourselves based on culture and nationality to our own demise. We see, appreciate, and celebrate our distinct differences based on nationalities, but the world does not. We do not have to abandon that which makes us different and unique, but we must embrace that we are one people transported from Africa during the Slave Trade and dropped off at various islands and countries. We are one people who all hail from Africa by way of various depot stations.

Assimilation has created an even further divide between the Black people of the African Diaspora. We seem broken by our differences. Where do we go from here? How do we come together and become stronger?

We can begin by learning more about who we are.

When we learn that social media is not a toy to be played with and that when our hand is in the lion’s mouth, be still.

It appears that Senator Rosalind Osgood can’t seem to stay out of Broward Schools business. It appears that she became irritated by US Representative, Debbie Wassermann Schultz’s endorsement of Dr. Allan Zeman for the at-large, countywide School Board seat. She fired off a tweet that read, “I really don’t understand Congressional Representatives that get involved in local races and support candidates who are bad for the community. Perhaps it is their way of trying to build power. Do you build power by hurting the community?”

Did Dr. Rosalind Osgood really tweet that? Her account had to be hacked because it is common knowledge that she has been intimately involved in trying to maintain her power as a former School Board member. She is doing all she can behind the scenes to control her former District 5 Seat and the countywide, at large seat.

While Osgood has not endorsed for the District 5 Seat, it is well known that she does not support Ruth Carter Lynch and is a huge supporter of Jeff Holness. She has not publicly endorsed Holness, but sources say she asked US Representative Sheila Cherfilus McCormick to endorse him, and Cherfilus McCormick reportedly hasn’t stopped laughing yet. Jeff Holness is the distant cousin of Dale Holness. Cherfilus McCormick and Dale Holness engaged in a very contentious two-year battle for the US Representative Seat of the 20th Congressional District. Cherfilus McCormick won the seat, but not without some nasty accusations against both people character. Endorsing his cousin only a couple months later was NOT going to happen.

It is unclear why Osgood won’t endorse Holness herself. Maybe she has conceded that Cherfilus McCormick has more influence and power than she does, or maybe she feels most comfortable in her once known environment where she can influence others to do her bidding.

Osgood had not been a member of the Broward School Board for at least six months. It is also well understood that Osgood supports her former school board colleague, Donna Korn for the countywide, at large seat. Initially, Osgood spoke out often and specifically about her support of Korn, however the public speaking began to wane sharply immediately after the Grand Jury Report was officially released and her four colleagues suspended, removed, and escorted out of the School Board building and had their pictures and parking signs removed from the property. Those actions may have resonated with her and now her physical presence is not so prevalent at the Kathleen C. Wright Building.

There were six candidates who battled to replace Osgood in the District 5 Seat, and she managed to participate in various debates and candidate forums. She refused to let go. It was about maintaining power.

Water cooler conversations accused Osgood’s former secretary, Andrae Hill of leaking Daniel Foganholi’s schedule to Osgood. Governor Ron Desantis appointed Foganholi to represent District 5 until after the November 2022 election. Osgood would just show up to events that were on Foganholi’s schedule. Who does that? There comes a time when you must let go of the power you once had as a Distort Board member.

Osgood simply refused to fully transition to her new role as State Senator and wish the new School Board members well. Therefore, her tweet is so perplexing. Was she talking about Wasserman Schultz or herself? They say when you point a finger of blame at someone else, three fingers are pointing back at you.

Osgood’s meddling didn’t stop with just Board members. It is well known that she continued and continues to have a large influence over Superintendent Vickie Cartwright. Osgood was the Board Chair who led the School Board in the selection of Cartwright as the interim superintendent and the changing of the rule to make her eligible to apply for the permanent position of superintendent. Osgood once stated that she was “100% in support of Cartwright”. Though Osgood had left the Board when Cartwright eventually clenched the job permanently, she continued to be a strong and close advisor, helping her to reorganize the district and influencing her decisions regarding the professional fate of staff. It is perhaps one of the most monumental mistakes that Cartwright has made.

But, back to Osgood’s tweet.

Nathalie Lynch Walsh, an outspoken watchdog of the Broward school board responded to Osgood’s tweet with, “I really don’t understand a former School Board member who narrowly escaped being removed from office for incompetence and willful neglect of duty opining on which candidates are bad for the community. #grandjury”.

Ouch!

There is an expression, “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” that Osgood has probably never heard of. Lynch Walsh was not trying to help Osgood at all with her response tweet, but I am going to try to help her by interpreting it.

There were five Board members who the Grand Jury recommended to be removed. By the time the action was taken, Osgood had already been elected to another political position in the Florida Senate. Instead of being thankful that she didn’t experience the very embarrassing and public flogging that four of her colleagues did, she showed up to the KC Wright Building on August 26 and had a press conference.

It was about power. When God rescues you from the Lion’s Den, you don’t have a press conference. You don’t continue to tweet. You thank Him for the protection and stay under the radar.

Could this be a biblical position that Dr. Osgood is taking, such as in Ruth’s “such a time is this”, or can Osgood not just let it go?

There were two others on the Board during portions of the Grand Jury investigation who, like Osgood, left before it was over. Robin Bartleman was elected to a Florida House of Representative seat in 2020, and Heather Brinkworth was defeated by current Board member, Sara Leonardi around that same time. You have heard nothing from Bartleman and Brinkworth. But not Osgood. She got a gift, but she can’t stop talking. All photo ops are not considered healthy looking. It appears she has a wanting desire to stay in the limelight and she isn’t satisfied unless she is front and center seeking out power and doesn’t feel valued without it. Simply put, she wants to be the only influence in the room.

We know Dr. Osgood to be better than that. Word to the wise. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. The juice ain’t worth the squeeze.

Our once proud and sacred Soul Bowl has now turned to a Soured Bowl.

If you attended the Soul Bowl football game between the Blanche Ely Tigers and the Dillard Panthers, you know that no winner was declared. The game ended about four minutes into the third quarter after scores of adults and children were seen running when fireworks, that were taken for gun shots were set off right outside the stadium. It resulted in pandemonium with people dropping to the ground and trampling others in a violent stampede to get to safety.

It was evident from the crowd that tickets were way oversold and there was not enough security to man the crowd. Some people said even at the halftime, tickets were still being sold online as scores of people wanted to be a part of the long-held rivalry tradition.

Was there even a security plan in place that was clearly communicated and ready to execute in case of emergency? It didn’t appear so and this is yet another strong indication that leadership at the top and at various levels of Broward schools is weak and in disarray.

Attendees took to social media immediately after to give opinions and admonish the district for not seeking a larger venue such as Lockhart Stadium where this game was played in the past.

Safety continues to be on the minds of parents who have children attending school in Broward and those who work for the school board. After Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, a law was passed mandating an armed officer in every school for every 1,000 students during the time which students are on campus. Other safety measures were outlined in the Marjorie Stoneman Douglass report and Broward instituted measures of their own, yet it is widely known that parents, students, and employees report that they don’t feel safe.

The Superintendent decided to remove safety from the District Safety department and place it back on the plates of school principals. Yet, many principals are unclear to what that means. Principals are not equipped to train security employees around safety protocols and quite frankly, they shouldn’t be required to do so. The Safety Department and local law enforcement should be required to lead safety efforts on school campuses in the same way that the Transportation department organizes routes for students to get to and from school and the Food and Nutrition department organizes breakfast and lunch for students. Of course, the principal is a part of the process for Transportation, Food and Nutrition and Safety, however, the intricate details of training should be handled by those with the expertise in these fields.

These are some of the issues and circumstances that are begging for the attention of the most qualified, concerned and those that are directly affected by them to find the answers and put them in place’

The question remains, “where do we go from here”?

 

About Carma Henry 24455 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

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