TAMPA, Fla. — On Saturday following violent protests in Tampa, Councilman Orlando Gudes and six other black leaders in Hillsborough County jumped on a Zoom call.
Gudes said they felt they had to do something and quick. They came up with a joint statement.
The three paragraph letter expressed both empathy and pain they're all feeling while also calling for peace and strategy.
"Local small businesses are being destroyed, police and sheriff vehicles are being vandalized and violence is occurring against our own fellow residents," Gudes' statement reads. "We understand the hurt, pain and frustration that our protesters are feeling right now but we must remember, we have to live here tomorrow."
Here is the full statement:
Other leaders on Gudes' statement include Sen. Darryl Rouson, State Rep. Dianne Hart, State Rep. Fentrice Driskell, State Rep. Wengay Newton, County Commissioner Les Miller and School Board Member Tamara Shamburger.
Part of their call to action was their desire to create a task force to address all violence within the city of Tampa.
Both Rep. Dianne Hart and Councilman Orlando Gudes told 10 Tampa Bay that young people will be the focus of that task force. They said the millennial generation and younger is crucial in creating change.
Gudes believes there are not enough people with a voice right now and we need to bring everyone to the table for better understanding and constructive action.
Hart told 10 Tampa Bay that could be everyone from students to pastors to community leaders to activists of all different races and backgrounds.
Since issuing the statement, dozens of people have reached out to Councilman Gudes asking to be part of the task force.
What other people are reading right now:
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- St. Petersburg police arrest 14 people following protests
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