By Lumon May
Few people know that my father, Theophalis May, was a philosopher in addition to restoring some of Pensacola’s most precious historical buildings.
One of my father’s often repeated sayings was: “If you can’t change your neighborhood, then you can’t change the world.â€
Today, my brothers, sisters and I still believe that. We work tirelessly to change our part of Pensacola block by block like he did.
Whenever we get discouraged and think about moving away from Pensacola’s inner-city, we think about our father. He started the family construction business 52 years ago — May’s Construction — served as the pastor of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and eventually died in 2006 at the age of 78.
My daddy gave his life to improve Pensacola, improve our neighborhood and to give his family a head start in academics and athletics. He received little or nothing in return but strongly believed in what he did.
Our church, our family and our neighbors want to continue that tradition of success. We want to buy the decaying, rundown Brownsville Middle School from the Escambia County School District and collaborate and partner with other loving agencies and individuals to provide a helping hand to our most impoverished district in Pensacola.
My brother, Rev. LuTimothy May, his Friendship Missionary church leaders and other local pastors envision pre-K and after-school programs, parenting and life skill programs and other services that raise up our community.
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church has received $1 million in commitments from its membership, which includes one parishioner who pledged $25,000 from a 401K plan. Most of the money, though, has been raised from one-time $5 or $10 gifts. The church is ready and willing to spend that $1 million solely on the school district’s decrepit schoolhouse and has a pledge from Pen Air Federal Credit Union to provide the loan for that amount.
However, Escambia County School District Superintendent Malcolm Thomas and the district’s realty firm, Scoggins Realty, are holding out for $1.1 million, or $100,000 more than what the church is offering. They are unwilling to negotiate or compromise.
It’s my position that the school board should give the church this property for FREE. That’s right, FREE!
Thomas defends his hard-nosed position by arguing that he must safeguard public dollars for the taxpayers. Thomas overlooks the fact, however, that it costs the taxpayers $1.2 million to $2.3 million to cover the costs of ONE young person dropping out of school and embracing a life of crime and drugs, according to the National Center for Juvenile Justice.
The center overseen by Friendship Missionary hopes to save thousands of at-risk youths in our Pensacola neighborhoods. That’s why I believe the abandoned Brownsville Middle School should be handed over for nothing to the church.
Consider that the city of Pensacola is deciding whether to give away the Vince Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park western waterfront—our best downtown real estate—for a $1 annual lease to the University of West Florida. Recall that past school boards and superintendents offered abandoned schools for free to any entity that promised to bring jobs to our community. Don’t forget that, several unloaded schools, such as Blount Middle School, remain undeveloped eyesores in our neighborhoods more than 25 years after the last student sat in their classrooms.
U.S. Congressman Kendrick Meek points out to us that research shows school districts across Florida and our nation are creating public-private partnerships to redevelop schools into thriving centers of activities for our youth and our adults.
Let’s be clear, the Brownsville school building is located squarely in District 3, which is the only majority black and Democratic district in Escambia County. The problems on issues such as crime, education, healthcare, housing and jobs is well documented:
• This area has the highest documented crime rate in Escambia County.
• Escambia County has a significantly larger percentage of households than Florida and the U.S. in the lowest income group (less than $10,000 per year).
• The percentage of Escambia County residents below the poverty level is 16.9 percent, compared to 12.2 percent in Florida and 13.1 percent in the U.S.
• The percentage of kindergarteners ready to learn in school is 91 percent for white children and 84 percent for black children.
• FCAT scores show black students scoring three or above on the reading test is 45 percent for fourth graders, 17 percent for eighth graders and 13 percent for 10th graders. For white students, it’s 77 percent, 49 percent and 40 percent, respectively.
• The infant mortality rate for black babies is 14.2 births per 1,000, while for white babies it is 7.8.
• The percentage of children born to black unwed mothers is 74.9 percent, while it’s 31.8 percent for white unwed mothers.
But people living in Attucks Court, Diego Circle, Lincoln Park, Montclair and other District 3 neighborhoods don’t need to be told this. They’re living it everyday.
The Friendship Missionary Baptist Church is simply committed to solutions to poverty and building back the Brownsville community. It deserves the ESCD’s support. After all, like my father said, if we can’t change Brownsville, how are we going to change the world?