....is 6:00 p.m. Ooops, left that out! Sorry! So, that's 3/28/02, Albright Church, 28th St. N and 5th Ave. N., 6:00 p.m. Be there or be square, peeps!

ANOTHER DRUG MARCH? and vigils?

I HATE the idea of another drug march in HKNA. Has anyone thought about what happened when the march was in South St. Pete? The marchers were labeled racists. Is there any wonder why they looked for a Northside neighborhood to do the next few? HELLOOOO????

The vigil part really disturbs me. I hear round about the way that there are plans for a block party get-together thing over there, and that is great, but we need to call the shots for how this is handled. NOT THE CITY!!!!!

Can we see copies of the Board minutes at the meetings? We don't really transact business at the association meetings, and I would like to know what is going on and how our board is handling this.

By Susie K

Part of the Process

The vigils are a part of the Wrice process. If you just walk on by, you really haven't targeted the people you need to. It is that kind of exposure that puts enough light on them to make a move. A move out of the neighborhood.
I don't remember any racist comments about the marches. All I heard and read was that the marches may have seemed targeted at some innocent kids.
As for the meetings, ask the president or a board member. The board meetings are open to the public.

By Bill H.

Hi, Susie: Part 1 of 2

Hi, Susie and all:

This is 878 words BEFORE I added in this introductory sentence, and one is only allowed 600. I fear I get passionate about HK and passionate about the marches, and you put those two subjects together and you have mayhem! I was already ''fired up'' before surfing to this site and reading your post, by a post by ''anonymous'' on the C.O.N.A. site and I'm afraid my tone got a little more ''passionate'' than I would have liked in responding to him or her, which is unfortunate, as his or her post was never disrespectful to anyone, but there you have it. I tried to do better in this one. Meanwhile, I'm splitting it in two, as it is too big and unweildy. Here's Part I:

The folks labeling the anti-drug marchers as ''racists'' have their own agenda. I had a Letter to the Editor published recently (I'll try to find the link and put it in this thread) responding to those who call the Wrice marchers racists. The ironic thing is, the marchers are about an integrated of a group as you will find anywhere in America--black people and white people are well-represented among our ranks. We have one thing in common: We want to make our neighborhoods safe for kids, free of the crime and other problems that drug houses bring to a neighborhood. It is totally color blind. I'm as happy to be asked to march on Snelle Isle as I am to march in South St. Pete. I am there FOR the neighbors--both black and white--not AGAINST them, which is basically what I said in my editorial. We are there out of love, not hate. We truly love our neighborhoods and our city and we want them to be a safe place for everyone. Believe me, when we marched in South St. Pete, we had many more people thanking us and giving us the thumbs up from their windows and yards than we had people telling us to get out. As I said, those who scream ''racist'' have their own agendas to push. The whole thing is sooooooo ironic, as the Wrice marchers are following in the footsteps of my personal hero, Martin Luther King, Jr., and he teachings of creative non-violent protests to effect change.

PLEASE read Part II, immediately following this!