I’ve thought about this for quite some time and now I can finally say, “Yorubas make good babies!” The late Silo Crespo was my religious leader and the man who motivated and inspired me to practice the African religion of our ancestors.
And when visiting Temple Unity in Miami to get my Yoruba prayer on, I would see this young guy running around. Today, I am proud of that young man. Silo’s son, Henry Crespo, worked his way from being active in the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party to become the president of the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida.
You know, when you’re right you’re right and when you’re wrong you’re wrong and The Gantt Report will call you out and write the truth about you regardless of your race, your creed, your color or your political affiliation.
It is with great pleasure then that I report that the Florida Democratic Party finally has someone whom most black citizens and most black voters can follow, can support and can trust to stand up and speak out about political issues of interest to African Americans.
Regular readers of The Gantt Report know I am slow and somewhat reluctant to endorse or hang my hat on Democratic, Republican or any other political candidates, political officials or political activities because politics and politicians are subject to change sometimes at the drop of a hat.
But Henry Crespo seems to be willing to ride or die with the millions of black Democrats whom he represents.
Crespo recently put together a very successful conference in Central Florida to allow black Democrats to meet and to discuss the political issues of 2014.
“We had a great turnout and realize that the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida represents 1.1 million black voters in the Sunshine State,” Crespo said. “We have a lot of work to do to get Democratic candidates who support issues important to blacks elected in this year’s elections.”
The conference’s theme was “All in to Win 2014: The Year of Action” and featured a women’s empowerment breakfast, a founder’s luncheon, a black media meeting, breakout sessions and a gala because a black meeting wouldn’t be a meeting without a party!
Attorney Ben Crump attended, along with some parents of murdered children, to discuss “stand your ground” and other Florida laws that concern black voters. Several local, state and federal candidates and political incumbents spoke about political issues.
South Florida Times publisher Robert Beatty explained to the crowd, “The plight of blacks in any one place is the same for blacks everywhere.”
What’s next for the DBCF? According to President Crespo, “We’re going to put the work in in the trenches.”
The Gantt Report hopes the Florida Democratic Party will respect President Crespo and all black Democrats and spend some significant Democratic dollars with black media and black political professionals in Florida in 2014.
If the Florida Democratic Party ignores the DBCF and the independent black voters who historically cast ballots for Democratic candidates, Florida’s Democratic local, statewide and federal candidates won’t be able to win a rat’s race in Florida and certainly not a political contest.
Democrats can dominate Florida politics again like they once did but they must abandon the devilish idea that black voters and professionals should be ignored and disrespected.
Democrats can start by getting behind and funding efforts controlled by Henry Crespo.
Lucius Gantt, a political consultant based in Tallahassee, is author of the book Beast Too: Dead Man Writing which is available at Amazon.com. You can like The Gantt Report page on Facebook and contact Gantt at allworldconsultants.net
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