JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Finding solutions for the Black community was the goal of an event on Thursday night called “The State of Black Jacksonville.”
Local activists from a group called Black Commission came together at the Jacksonville Urban League to discuss the biggest hurdles their communities are facing and how to overcome them.
The discussion ranged from everything from creating a community center, to tackling issues with crime, and economic development.
Daillo-Sekou Seabrooks, President and CEO of the Black Commission, said the other part was looking at the Black community’s progression within the city.
“We want to look at the political systems, we want to look at our particular self-determination within the city and see if there are any roadblocks or if there’s any adjustments that needed to happen that we may have looked at, and come up with solutions to put us in a good position for the future,” Seabrooks said. ““No one is here to look out directly and specifically for the Black community other than the Black community. We can ask people we elect to look out for an area but they’re not going to say they’re there for that particular area, they’re there for the people in the area. What people have to understand is, going to a saying of Dr. King, a solution for everyone is a solution for no one.”
The discussion had each person offer what their solutions might be. Some ranged from free mental health resources to improving neighborhood aesthetics and responding to crime.
Dr. Irvin Cohen, Executive Director for the Local Initiative Support Corporation, attended the meeting to offer solutions.
News4JAX asked him about Sheriff T.K. Water’s comments from Wednesday about not seeing the outreach for the recent shootings where two children died, compared to the outreach for the racially motivated shooting at a Dollar General last month where three Black residents died.
“We have to be, as a community, uncomfortable with young children dying in any instance so I’m challenged by what I see. I share the same sentiments with the Sheriff that we haven’t seen the same level of outpouring but I think people are still trying to process certain levels of trauma,” Cohen said.
Dr. Cohen hopes his organization can help with getting money into the hands of entrepreneurs who can invest in underserved communities.
“We just have to come up with a plan that makes sense at the end of the day. I think if you were to ask the community what does investment look like you might get a thousand different responses and what my hope is that we can synchronize those responses to something that makes sense,” he said.
One thing they propose is creating a Black community trust where the 400 Black churches in Jacksonville contribute 3% of their collections.
“That money would go into a whole life insurance policy to generate money to give back to the community,” Seabrooks said.
Seabrooks also hopes for the creation of an African-American cultural center.
“It can become a centralized location for protection of the culture, the community, a resource center,” he said.
The Black Commission said it plans to continue meeting and finding solutions.
On Saturday, community leaders with MAD DADS will hold their annual Motorcycle Ride for Life. It starts at the Adamec Harley Davidson on Baymeadows Road. People can start signing up there at 9 a.m. Saturday.