Will Florida Be the Next Florida?

I did not take the "last train to Jacksonville," but I am in the River City for the A. Philip Randolph Institute's 39th National Education Conference.

APRI was co-founded by the legendary labor leader seen on the right and Bayard Rustin.

Randolph's unwavering commitment to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, which he founded, lifted tens of thousands of black families into the middle class.

The statute of Randolph in Union Station in Washington, DC, is a constant reminder that giants once walked among us.

If only he were around today. ...

Randolph was an unsung hero of the civil rights movement. As Florida state Sen. Anthony C. "Tony" Hill Sr. observed:

This APRI National Education Conference is very timely in view of the fact that July 26, 2008 marked the 60th anniversary of Executive Order 9981 issued in 1948 by President Harry Truman to ban segregation in the military. What is lost on most is that A. Philip Randolph's nonviolent organizing against discrimination was a key instrument in effecting the implementation of that crucial document.

Congresswoman Corrine Brown represents Jacksonville (Duval County). She addressed APRI folks at the fabulous Ritz Theatre & LaVilla Museum. Way back in the day, the Ritz Theatre was on the famed "chitlin' circuit."

Brown is a lifelong champion of voting rights. She noted that African Americans are excited about the presidential election. But she issued a caution: If you think you are registered to vote, think again. In Duval County alone, 89,000 people have been purged from the voter rolls since the 2000 election debacle. Voter purges are done without notice so voters may not find out until they show up in November.

Under Florida law, people who have moved but never updated their address with their local board of elections and voters who skipped two consecutive statewide elections are purged from the voter rolls.

Known for telling it like it is, Brown cut to the chase: