Volume 97 Number 29 | MARCH 4-10, 2020 | MiamiTimesOnline.com | Ninety-Three Cents Black leaders We are changing how this government is meet with being run to ensure it is abiding by all standard Danielle rules“ and regulations.” —Opa-locka Mayor Levine Cava Matthew A. Pigatt Miami-Dade mayoral candidate enlists dialogue in a roundtable discussion. PENNY DICKERSON [email protected] In Judge Lawson E. Thomas’ courtroom at the Black Police Pre- cinct and Courthouse Museum, a corps of Florida Legislature makes moves to cancel Black business lead- ers, community advo- 11 cities that ae in financial trouble. cates, politicians and legal professionals PHILIPPE HENOLD BUTEAU convened in a round- Miami Times Contributor table discussion for State lawmakers want to add an automatic emergency board to respond to a money straight talk with trigger to dissolve cities in financial trouble. crisis. The city has failed to comply with a mayoral candidate, Eleven cities, including Opa-locka, are signed agreement with the governor; has Danielle Levine watching a bill that could be on the gover- been late on sending audits for at least two Cava. nor’s desk before the cities get out of the years; and an auditor general issued a report Questions re- reason state lawmakers say residents may within three years, which pointed out major garding wealth and want to dissolve: fiscal irresponsibility. problems. racial disparity, At the end of the day, “Dissolution of municipalities,” House Bill If the bill passes, the city’s elected officials affordable housing 1209 and Senate Bill 1522, adds financial have to set an election date or the county and branding led my goal is to have a criteria to the state’s already existing power will. the engaging dis- prosperity agenda for to dissolve cities. Opa-locka Mayor Matthew A. Pigatt on course held Friday, Black minorities." Opa-locka fits some parts of the bill: Feb. 25 vented live on Facebook. In his 36- Feb. 28 during a “ Elected officials have been under financial minute-57-second video, Pigatt, talked two-hour gathering. oversight for at least two years, with an SEE DISSOLVE 6A Levine Cava told community leaders —Danielle Levine Cava she views them as a “great trust” to Opa-locka Mayor Matthew A. Pigatt, center, is angered advise her as she that a politician seeks to dissolve Opa-locka's history. seeks to be elected the first woman in the history of Miami-Dade. Levine Cava was elected commissioner in 2018 to represent District 8, which includes Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Homestead and unincorporated areas of South Dade including Redland, Falls, Princeton, parts of Naranja, Leisure City and parts of West Kendall. She is an attorney licensed by the Florida Bar, and in 1996 founded Catalyst Miami. The human services and education ad- vocacy organization helps about 5,000 low- and middle-income people annually reach self-suffi- ciency. The evening’s tone was set when Levine-Cava offered her campaign agenda. “At the end of the day, my goal is to have a prosperity agenda for Black minorities,” said Levine Cava who promised to have an office ded- icated to issues of equity if elected mayor. “In the almost 40 years since I have been in this county, Philippe Henold Buteau/Miami Times Contributor SEE CAVA 4A Florida Dems appoints Black woman to head outreach a fellow Rattler in this piv- and volunteering on local, Brittney Geathers is a FAMU graduate otal role. state and congressional “FAMU prepares students campaigns in Florida, Vir- representing millennial leadership to succeed globally and in ginia, and North Carolina. PENNY DICKERSON nity and key leaders from the world at-large,” said Her background includes a [email protected] counties across Florida. Mandela. “Diversity and in- six-month training program “African Americans are a clusion are so important, provided by the New Lead- The Florida Democratic vital and valued voting de- and when you see someone ers Council, a hub for pro- Party prepares to flip Flor- mographic of the Democrat- who looks like your eth- gressive millennial-thought ida Blue with a new round ic party,” said Geathers. “I’m nicity and represents your leadership. of hires and promotions. excited our state party has stance, it opens doors for a According to the council’s Brittney Geathers has been put unprecedented focus, ef- plethora of people to want website, the NLC equips promoted director of Afri- fort, and resources to reach to navigate the political leaders with the skills to can American outreach, and out to African Americans landscape.” run for office, manage cam- previously served as FDP across the state. I look for- Terrie Rizzo, chair of the paigns, create start-ups and community engagement di- ward to building coalitions FDP said an extended part networks of thought leaders. rector. of people and hosting events of Geather’s role is to fo- NLC leaders take their ac- Appointing Geathers is that engage our community.” cus on issues such as health tivism back into their com- part of the Florida Demo- Geathers earned a Mas- care, fair wages, and gun vi- munities and workplaces to cratic Party's larger strategy ter of Business Adminis- olence. impact progressive change. to engage Black communi- tration degree in 2018 from “We’re excited to have Geathers is additional- ties in voter registration and Florida A&M University Florida Democratic Party Brittney Geathers bring her ly an alumna of DC-based campaign volunteerism. In and represents a tradition Brittney Geathers is appointed Florida Democratic Par- considerable talents to our Running Start and has been this capacity, Geathers will of alumni whose political ty director of African American outreach. highly energized, Flip Flor- active with groups includ- focus on outreach and voter contributions strengthened ida Blue campaign,” said ing the Leon County Dem- education, along with con- the FDP. Among them are man Meek who represented ident of the Miami-Dade Rizzo. ocratic Black Caucus, Alpha necting with state and local Florida gubernatorial can- Florida's 17th congressional FAMU national alumni asso- Geathers has a Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., elected officials, business didate Andrew Gillum and district. ciation and is not surprised ten-year history Young Democrats, and the leaders, faith-based commu- congresswoman Carrie Pitt- Masekela Mandela is pres- at all by the appointment of of employment NAACP. 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Box 270200 Buena Vista Station, Miami, Florida 33127 creed or color, his or her human and Foreign $75.00 Buena Vista Station, Miami, FL Phone 305-694-6210 ere we are again. In December, another new virus legal rights. Hating no person, fearing 7 percent sales tax for Florida residents 33127-0200 • 305-694-6210 — SARS-CoV-2 — made the leap from animals to H.E. SIGISMUND REEVES Founder, 1923-1968 no person, the Black Press strives to humans. It has now infected more than 83,000 peo- GARTH C. REEVES SR. Publisher 1919-2019 help every person in the firm belief that H GARTH C. REEVES JR. Editor, 1968-1982 all persons are hurt as long as anyone ple across more than 50 countries. Nearly 3,000 people have RACHEL J. REEVES Publisher 1992-2019 is held back. died, most of them in China where the outbreak began. Global CAROLYN GUNISS Executive Editor health experts are once again sounding the alarm. It’s unclear how bad things might get this time around. Covid-19, the dis- ease caused by this new virus, appears to be between seven Green building sector seeks equity and 20 times more deadly than seasonal flu, which on average kills between 300,000 and 650,000 people globally each year. JACQUI PATTERSON AND MANDY LEE, Project-level Equity Committee members, NAACP But that fatality rate could prove to be much lower, especially Voting rights. Segregation. if it turns out that many milder cases have evaded detection. Criminal justice reform. For In the meantime, this much is not in dispute: SARS-CoV-2 more than a century, the civil spreads easily — more easily than SARS or seasonal flu — and rights movement has taken on is tough to detect. It’s the kind of virus that would be extremely the inequities that divide and difficult to contain even in a best-case scenario, and the world disfigure American society. Now is hardly in a best-case scenario now. Rising nationalism, wan- the green building sector has ing trust and lingering trade wars have undermined cooper- joined the fronts of struggle for ation between global superpowers. Rampant misinformation access and equity. and growing skepticism of science are imperiling public un- Why? derstanding of the crisis and governments’ response to it. The green building sector There is still a chance that Covid-19 will prove to be more is transforming the places in fire drill than actual fire. A global pandemic is all but certain, which we live, work and gather.