Bay Area Activist Coalition

Hillsborough School Board to workshop recommendations from minority task force next month

Published on April 21, 2015 in The Bay and the 'Burg by Mitch Perry

A task force formed to study why there are severe racial disparities in discipline and graduation rates for black and Latino teen boys in Hillsborough County presented their recommendations to the School Board Tuesday afternoon. Among the recommendations include revisions to the code of conduct in the school handbook, a student bill of rights, and sustainability, said task force member Manny Rivero, executive director of the Jim Walter Partnership Center at the University of South Florida. “One of my biggest concerns is…

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Activists in Tampa rally to decry deadly force of police actions against Walter Scott & Lavall Hall

Published on April 11, 2015 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Mitch Perry

The shooting death of Walter Scott as he was fleeing police last weekend has dominated national news coverage over the past week. But an incident in South Florida is equally troubling, said activists who convened in front of the federal building in Tampa on Saturday afternoon. Lavall Hall was a 25-year-old mentally ill black man who was fatally shot by police in Miami Gardens back in February. But in a 19-minute police video that Hall’s family released on Wednesday, an…

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Mitch Perry Report for 3.4.15 — Hillsborough School Board defies the critics (again) & goes with Eakins

Published on March 4, 2015 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Mitch Perry

Yesterday was quite a day news wise. But before we talk City Council races, how about that Hillsborough County School District Board? They did it again yesterday — going against the sentiments of the editorial writers and newspaper columnists who demanded they take on a national search to succeed MaryEllen Elia as the district’s superintendent. Instead, on a 4-3 vote, the board opted to hire interim superintendent Jeff Eakins, if he can come to terms on a contract by June 9. Two…

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Activists tell Hillsborough County School Board that changes need to be made regarding the criminalization of black youth

Published on March 3, 2015 in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by Mitch Perry

Last fall, Chamberlain High School student Brittany Overstreet suffered a concussion and broken jaw after a violent incident with a school resource officer (SRO) — an incident that still reverberates with young activists who say that black teenagers are being pushed into the “school-to-prison pipeline.” The incident involving Overstreet remains in dispute, with reports saying that three students approached Chamberlain’s assistant principal last September and alleged that Overstreet threatened to spray them with mace or pepper spray. An altercation then ensued when the…

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