Florida Sentinel Bulletin

BARBARA McCOO LEWIS

…General Supervisor, Women’s Dept. COGIC

     Tampa, get ready for an inspirational event of monumental proportions! The renowned General Supervisor Dr. Barbara McCoo Lewis, a beacon of faith and leadership, is set to grace our city with her presence, bringing her powerful message and transformative vision to our community.

      Save the Date: September 11, 2024, for a profound encounter at the Southwestern Florida Jurisdiction COGIC headquarter church: Brown Memorial COGIC, located at 2313 E. 27th Avenue, Tampa, FL, where the Bishop Anthony W. Gilyard, Jurisdictional Prelate and Supervisor Evelyn S. Cooper are the esteemed leaders.

     Dr. Lewis will share her incredible journey, profound insights as the seventh General Supervisor of the International Department of Women, but more importantly, the Word of God. Appointed by Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake (April 2017) and reappointed (2021) by Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Dr. Lewis is a guiding light in the Women’s Department of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).

     Born to Pastor Richard and Mother Sue McCoo in Los Angeles, Dr. Lewis’ spiritual journey began at the tender age of nine. With a lifetime of dedication to her faith and the COGIC community, she brings a wealth of experience and inspiration to Tampa.

     Her impressive academic background includes degrees in Journalism and Theology, along with an honorary Doctorate degree, showcasing her commitment to both spiritual and intellectual growth. Dr. Lewis has served with distinction in various roles, from Jurisdictional Supervisor to the visionary leader behind the Hale Morris Lewis Senior Complex, a $4.7 million, 41-unit project, benefiting countless individuals in her community.

     Her leadership has also driven numerous initiatives, and extended far beyond the traditional realm, embracing technology and virtual platforms to spread the Gospel message, especially during challenging times.

     Dr. Lewis was married for 57 years to the late Bishop James A. Lewis. In 1970 she co-founded with her husband the New Antioch Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, and is currently the Church Mother. She has two sons, Elder James A. Lewis, Jr (wife, Sonya) and Administrative Assistant Jeffrey M. Lewis, who is her Pastor (wife, Floetta). She has two adult grandchildren, Shannon and Jeffrey, Jr.

     Join us for an unforgettable experience as Dr. Barbara McCoo Lewis brings her spirit, wisdom, and inspiring vision to Tampa.

mentioned that PCAT needs volunteers for support roles and tutoring.

is the mother of two, and grandmother of three.

DEPUTY TIMOTHY WHITE

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office shares with profound sadness and heavy hearts that a deputy took his own life Thursday in Tampa.

On August 29, 2024, at 5:28 p.m., a family member of Deputy Timothy White, 45, found him deceased in a vehicle with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The vehicle was located at the Tampa Fire Rescue Headquarters.

Deputy White worked with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for 15 years, most recently serving at the Hillsborough County Courthouse.

 According to published reports, he served as a medical assistant in the U. S. Army.

“I am devastated to learn that one of our own was suffering in silence,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said.

“The entire Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office grieves with Deputy White’s loved ones. To anyone in crisis, please know you are not alone; help is available.”

If you or someone you know is in a crisis, help is just a phone call away, call the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay at 211.

“We would like to thank the men and women of Tampa Police Department for their support during this difficult time.”

Kanye West 

Kanye West Has Finally offloaded the Malibu mansion he’d gutted, reportedly in order to create a bomb shelter – and he’s taking a major financial loss in the process.

Ye bought the home for $57.3 million just three years ago in 2021, sunk money into it to gut it, abandoned the project, and then listed it for $53 million late last year. He later slashed the price because no one was biting.

TMZ reported last Monday (August 26) that a California-based “real estate crowdfunding firm” named Belwood Investments purchased the property earlier this month for $21 million, which makes for a nearly $40 million loss. The deal is set to close on September 3.

TAMPA POLICE WORK TO IDENTIFY AND ARREST ARMED ROBBERY SUSPECT

TAMPA, FL. (August 21, 2024) — The Tampa Police Department is asking the community to help identify the suspect involved in an armed robbery that occurred on the morning of August 9th, 2024.

The armed suspect, seen in the video, entered the 29th Street Grocery store located at 2802 N 29th St., where he pointed a gun, threatened the clerk, and demanded money. Thankfully, the employee was not injured.

Detectives are now releasing this video clip of the suspect and asking the community to take a good look. The suspect can be seen wearing a black t-shirt with white lettering pulled over his head. He was also wearing black and gray camouflage shorts, black Nike slides, and has a noticeable scar on his abdomen. He fled the scene northbound on 29th St. on a bicycle.

As Tampa Police detectives continue to gather evidence and develop leads in the case, they ask anyone with information that could help them to identify or locate this suspect to call the Tampa Police Department at 813.231.6130, or contact Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay by calling 800.873.TIPS (8477).

 By Candace McDuffie (Published in

‘The Root’ on Friday)

      The Heritage Foundation outlined a dangerous plan if Trump becomes President again.

     Project 2025, a 920-page policy document, was devised by the conservative Heritage Foundation and outlines a far-right Christian agenda for Donald Trump’s second presidential term if he wins the election in November. The plan will dismantle educational opportunities for Black people, go after LGBTQ+ protections, cut Medicare and stop “anti-white racism,” among other things.

     Here are just a few reasons why Black folks should be terrified of Project 2025.

Firing Thousands Of Government Employees

    The Biden-Harris administration has the most diverse staff in this country’s history, with 50 percent of current employees describing themselves as racially or ethnically diverse. Project 2025 would eliminate job protections for those government employees who could be replaced by political appointees — making the White House full of white MAGA supporters.

     At the Treasury Department, the document says the next administration should “treat the participation in any critical race theory or DEI initiative without objecting on constitutional or moral grounds, as per se grounds for termination of employment.”

Getting Rid Of Abortion Pill

Photo: Kansas City Star (Getty Images)

     In the Project 2025 blueprint, it requests that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its 24-year-old approval of the widely used abortion pill, mifepristone. It also calls for the Justice Department to enforce the Comstock Act against providers and distributors of abortion pills — all of which will disproportionately affect Black women who have the highest rate of maternal deaths during childbirth.

Doing Away With ‘WOKE Propaganda’

    The blueprint insists that the Trump administration will go against “woke propaganda” which includes having a long list of terms banned from all laws and federal regulations like “sexual orientation,” “gender equality,” “DEI,” “gender equity,” “abortion” and “reproductive rights.”

Eviscerating LGBTQ+ Rights

     Project 2025 plans to dismantle the rights of transgender people and well as the rights of same-sex married couples. It says that children should be raised by their “biological” fathers and mothers since the “male-female dyad is essential to human nature.” The blueprint also equates the act of being transgender, or “transgender ideology,” to pornography and states it should be outlawed.

Getting Rid Of Loan Forgiveness

     Project 2025 encourages putting an end to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Currently, the program provides student loan relief to borrowers who work in federal, state, local or tribal governments as well as nonprofit organizations.

Attacking Critical Race Theory

Photo: Jeffrey Greenberg (Getty Images)

     The creators of the blueprint believe teaching Critical Race Theory in schools would make white students feels bad. According to Project 2025, they would “not require students or teachers to believe that individuals are guilty or responsible for the actions of others based on race or ethnicity.”

Limiting Education For Black Students

Photo: Drew Angerer (Getty Images)

     In addition to the racist practice of “school choice,” which would widen the educational gap between Black and white students, those who send their kids to disproportionately Christian and white private schools would be rewarded. Project 2025 also wants to get rid of Head Start, a federal educational readiness program for qualifying children during their first five years.

Weakening Black-Owned Businesses

     The Biden-Harris administration has provided funding for Black businesses. However, Project 2025 would get rid of programs aimed to help them. In addition to eliminating a program that would protect Black businesses from discrimination, it plans on changing the Minority Business Development Agency into something focused on “the benefit of free markets, the evils of socialism and Communism, and the destructive effect of taxes and regulations on minority businesses.”

Finishing The Wall

     Project 2025’s agenda advises finishing Trump’s wall along the U. S.-Mexico border. In addition, it encourages the next administration to “take a creative and aggressive approach” to dealing with drug cartels at the border. The blueprint wants to employ active-duty military personnel and the National Guard for arrests at the southern border.

Reducing Black Home Ownership

Photo: Jim Morrison (Getty Images)

     Black home ownership has always been low, but Project 2025 will do away with programs meant to increase it and end “other uses of special-purpose credit authorities to further equity.” Rental assistance programs would come to end as well.

Defunding Liberal Media

     Project 2025 has intentions of defunding Public Broadcast System (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR) and grants for media entities that have “mostly liberal” audiences.

Getting Rid Of Racial Data

     The blueprint insists on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to cease collecting employment data based on race and ethnicity. In the document, they state it “can then be used to support a charge of discrimination under a disparate impact theory” which could “lead to racial quotas.” They want to stop this sort of data collection from both public and private employers.

Getting Rid Of Inflation Reduction Act

     Project 2025 wants to get rid of the Inflation Reduction Act, which under Biden would have generated around 10 million climate-friendly jobs over the next decade. The agenda also calls for banning greenhouse gas regulations and clean energy programs. Low-income Black folks are exposed to pollution disproportionately and die at higher rates from it.

Dismantling Department Of Homeland Security

     According to Project 2025, several offices would be cut from the U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which would shut down the biggest school in the country for federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement officers. The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) would also be eliminated from DHS, which was created to protect the United States after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Getting Rid Of Medicare/Social Security

Photo: Jeffrey Greenberg (Getty Images)

     Project 2025 will repeal “health policies enacted under the Obama and Biden Administrations such as the Medicare Shared Savings Program and Inflation Reduction Act.” These vital policies are assisting millions of Americans afford their health insurance and prescription drugs. The blueprint would also cut Medicaid funding in half as well.

DANIEL BLACK, Ph.D.

Author, Professor, Consultant, Mentor, Clark Atlanta University

     The Hillsborough County Branch NAACP is preparing for its annual Freedom Fund Dinner. The event will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at the Tampa Marriott Water Street. This year’s theme is “All In Thriving Together.”

     Hillsborough Branch President Yvette Lewis announced that the guest speaker will be Daniel Black, Ph.D., a 30-year professor of African American Studies at Clark Atlanta University.

     Dr. Black is also an award-winning novelist, activist, mentor and public speaker. His published works include They Tell Me of Home, The Sacred Place, Perfect Peace, Twelve Gates to the City, The Coming, Listen to the Lambs, Don’t Cry for Me, and Black on Black.

     Dr. Black’s newest novel, Don’t Cry For Me, was released by HarperCollins on February 1^st, 2022.

     Dr. Black’s newest work is his first essay collection titled BLACK ON BLACK, which was released on January 30^th, 2023.

     He also works as a diversity consultant, having spoken at top-tier companies in America. He assists corporations with creating work environments in which all employees, of every level and difference, feel supported and valued.

      A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Black spent his formative years in rural Blackwell, Arkansas. He graduated from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) where he earned the prestigious Oxford Modern British Studies fellowship and studied abroad at Oxford University. He was then awarded a full fellowship to Temple University where he studied with Black Arts Movement poet laureate Sonia Sanchez and, in 1992, earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies. Dr. Black has spent the majority of his 30 academic years as a professor of African American Studies at his beloved alma mater, Clark Atlanta University.

     Dr. Black lives in Atlanta and is the founder of the Ndugu-Nzinga Rites of Passage Nation, a mentoring society for people of African descent who seek to love themselves and build a world of character for their people.

     Currently, Dr. Black has completed the literary sequel to Don’t Cry for Me, tentatively titled Isaac’s Song. He is also working on part II of The Coming, titled The Second Coming and a black scripture titled The Good Book.