Black professionals mesh; Goodwill in Wal-Mart's shadow

Tampa columnist HOOPER E-mail: Click here Archive

© St. Petersburg Times
published October 7, 2002

There were afro wigs (I think they were wigs), platform shoes, wildly designed polyester outfits and silk shirts that would have made John Travolta proud. A couple of people were sporting long-forgotten tams and the sound of funk music filled the clubhouse at Parker's Landing in Town 'N Country.

This was the scene at the Tampa Area Minority Professionals Association's '70s funk party Friday night. The group is still trying to find its way, but given the obstacles it has faced, the search has been impressive.

Tamara Burks, Dionna Smith and Miguel Rada created TAMPA nearly a year and a half ago.

They were all young professionals at Technisource, new to the city and longing to connect with people sharing common interests. That's not easy.

A common lament among young blacks in Tampa is their struggle to find a sense of belonging. Tampa's young blacks are spread from Brandon to east Tampa to Carrollwood to Westchase. The social focus needed to bring them together didn't exist, but Burks, Smith and Rada made the effort.

They had a Web site, happy hour mixers and a mission statement that included economic and political goals as well as getting together to have a good time.

But the group lost momentum when the three were laid off. The sobering effects of 9/11 and Smith and Rada's decisions to look for jobs in other cities let the steam out of the early successes. Burks, however, wasn't ready to give up on Tampa, the city or the group.

She started her own business, Bakari Media Group, and re-energized TAMPA. This year, the group has had monthly happy hours, a car wash, a picnic and the aforementioned '70s party. The happy hours have turned into true networking opportunities with featured speakers.

It isn't teeming with members yet, but the potential is there.

"We don't want the association to be known for just great and wonderful parties," Burks said. "We really want to make a difference in the community."

When you're traveling east on State Road 60 in Brandon, you see David first -- a modern store painted in art deco colors. Then the shadow of Goliath -- a red, white and blue mammoth building -- quickly rises in the background and nearly engulfs poor David.

The David, in this case, is the Goodwill Industries superstore, and for Goodwill, it is pretty super. It has 25,000 square feet, 60 employees, an inviting design and 75,000 pieces of "gently used" clothing, furniture and housewares.

Don't you just love the term gently used?

From my vantage point, however, it appears to be facing an incredible uphill battle against the new Wal-Mart Supercenter. The stores sit next to each other and opened around the same time last month.

The competition doesn't seem fair, but the Goodwill folks say the store is exactly where they want it. The strategy is to attract more customers (and donations) by being near large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot. The early indications are people going to Wal-Mart are starting to drift over and do some Goodwill hunting.

Funny thing about our state government. Experts keep saying we're headed for a budget crisis because of the use of nonrecurring revenue, but Republicans keep saying there is no need for new taxes.

It's an irresistible force and an immovable object. In the middle are important state services that are sure to get cut -- unless we decide as a state to stop being so cheap.

Tropicana Field seems to age a year every week. Season ticket sales are sure to dwindle and the prospects of another 100-loss season is tangible. So what do the Devil Rays do? Fire the manager.

When it comes to the woes of Tampa Bay's baseball team, I don't know how to fix it, but it all reminds me of what my mom used to say: the fish rots from the head down.

That's all I'm saying.

-- Ernest Hooper can be reached at (813) 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com.

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