Faith in Florida held its Juneteenth Community Recognition Celebration on Saturday, June 19 at the Gadsden County Courthouse square. This was the first time Faith in Florida has held its celebration in Quincy. Tracey Stallworth was the congregational organizer for the event for Faith in Florida; Stallworth had a team nominate recipients for an award that recognized their commitment to the community. Each recipient received a certificate, a freedom bag for the next generation and the opportunity to speak to the gathering. Recipients of the awards distributed during the Faith in Florida Juneteenth event. Over 15 people were recognized for their contribution to the community. “Typically, most people honor people who have been recognized last year and so on and so forth. We wanted to recognize the unrecognized people in the community that are doing the work,” said Stallworth. Lieutenant Anglie Holmes of the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Department was one of the recipients of the reward. In her speech, Lt. Holmes encouraged the crowd, stating that every difficult moment they have been through was fertilizer to help them achieve their goals. MaMa FripPy (a character portrayed by Latreva Stallworth) sings a song during the Saturday, June 19 Juneteenth Celebration of the Faith in Florida organization. The celebration was held at the Gadsden County Courthouse, in Quincy. “When people thought they buried you, they actually planted you,” Holmes said. Danny Cruz, Founder of 5F Soccer League, was another recipient recognized for his work in the community. 5F Soccer League is multicultural and multigenerational and has been operating for seven years; one of Cruz’s goals is to develop athletes at a young age. “I played professional soccer when I was 14 until I was 17 and what I gathered throughout the years is everything starts with the youth,” said Cruz. The complete list of award recipients is: Attorney Marva Davis, Stacey Hannigon, Jerome Harris, Natalie Roberts, Terrance Roberts, Reverend Jimmy Salters, Sharisse Turner, Rick Redding, Billy Redding Sr., Rod Lee, Rosco Newton, Roland Steele, Yvette Bittle, Danny Cruz, Bishop Willie Lamb, Lt. Anglie Holmes, Oscar Veneszee, Commissioner Freida Bass-Prieto, Emma Harrell, L. C. Jackson, Johnny Watson, Arlinthei “Spyce” Davis, Alison Stallworth, and Evonski Bulger. MaMa FripPy, portrayed by Latreva Stallworth, was there to perform a skit and sing a song. “MaMa FripPy” is an 82-year-old storytelling character who speaks to children about history and culture. The Gadsden chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had representatives present, encouraging people to register for membership. Faith in Florida is a nonpartisan group. According to their website, the group’s mission is to build a multicultural, non-partisan network of congregation community organizations in Florida that will address systemic racial and economic issues that cause poverty for families. “We bring truth to power. We agitate, we mobilize, we educate on house bills, senate bills and anything that threatens our democracy,” Stallworth said. “We are there to educate the people.” For more information about Faith in Florida visit www.faithinflorida.org Breanna Rittman - Gadsden County News Service
