Desegregation Order May Be Lifted From Orange Co. Schools
January 25, 2010
Kelli Cook, 13 News
- Back in 1962, seven Orange County students were fighting for equality in education.
It’s a fight that’s continues to this day.
“Things that are wrong and long in the making, often take long to remedy,” said Frank Kruppenbacher, general counsel for Orange County Public Schools.
An end might be in sight.
On Monday afternoon, school board members and attorneys met behind closed doors to discuss the agreement.
The board will take an official vote Tuesday to adopt the settlement terms that will be presented before a federal judge to officially end what’s been about 48 years in the making.
Florida Classic inspires bonding amid rivalry
November 20, 2009
Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel
- To Orlando’s black community, the Florida Classic between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman universities Saturday is far more than just a football game. It is a full-body cultural event that extends beyond the students and alumni of those two historically black colleges.
To Andrea DeLoach, the influx of middle-class, college-educated, black professionals is a return to her years at Spelman College in Atlanta. It’s like a homecoming — where home comes to you.
To her husband, Earnest, an attorney who grew up in Central Florida, the Classic is a chance to network with other black lawyers, potential clients, out-of-town businessmen and executives.
To Michael Lewellen, who didn’t attend a historically black college, the stadium full of black spectators, the must-see marching bands, and the massing of black sorority and fraternity members is the next best thing.
“For folks like me, it’s the closest we come to experiencing black college life,” said Lewellen, Orlando Urban League board chairman.
Old court order could stop sale of historically black school
August 13, 2009
Erika Hobbs, Orlando Sentinel
- A 1951 court order that has been collecting dust for decades could thwart Orange County school officials’ plans for selling a historically black school and its surrounding land.
The school district wants to sell 115 acres to Eatonville for development that could bring the town new tax revenue. The tract includes Robert L. Hungerford Preparatory High, a magnet school that was shuttered in June.
It’s a tricky deal, however, because the 58-year-old order governs how part of the land can be used. And it’s a deal that will be closely watched because it could revitalize Eatonville’s anemic economy at the cost of losing Hungerford Prep, a symbol of achievement in the black community.
Orange school closures would hurt gains by blacks, plan’s foes say
April 16, 2009
Erika Hobbs, Orlando Sentinel
- Orange County’s School Board faces a rising tide of outrage from teachers, parents and advocates for the poor who say plans to close six elementary schools will wipe out progress they have made bringing schools in black, low-income areas up to par.
About 200 angry teachers and parents, plus several politicians, pressed officials to save the schools in a public hearing at district headquarters Wednesday night in Orlando. And the local NAACP chapter, a prominent political consultant and some private citizens say they are poised to sue the district to stop the closings.
The budget-cutting plan includes closing Hillcrest, Kaley, Grand Avenue, Richmond Heights, Maxey and Pine Castle elementaries and converting Howard and Carver middle schools to kindergarten-through-grade-eight campuses. The plan would move more than 7,000 children and rezone most of the county’s middle schools.
Confederate Flag Lawsuit Sparks Much Debate
March 26, 2009
News4Jax.com
- A local man’s decision to file a lawsuit against his employer, BJ’s Wholesale Club, over a Confederate flag flap has resurrected conflict about the controversial symbol.
Bobby Tillett said for nearly the past year he has parked his pickup truck, which flies the Confederate flag, on public property a half-mile away from BJ’s employee lot because the company won’t allow him to park on its personal property while the flag is flying.
On Tuesday, Tillett’s attorney confirmed the man has filed a lawsuit against BJ’s.
The issue has prompted many Channel 4 viewers to send in comments and take part of an online discussion.
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