NAACP spearheading cleanup

As the group opens its new headquarters in the Sub, it is organizing a community cleanup, a cookout and a political forum on April 21.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 9, 2000

BROOKSVILLE -- Walking along Summit Road, local NAACP President John Wallace grows disturbed by the trash.

Crushed cigarette packs, crumpled paper cups from fast-food restaurants, beer bottles and even full sacks of garbage lie everywhere. In the yards of unused, rundown buildings. On the roadway. In the drainage ditch.

"As you can see," Wallace said, "this area was used for a public dump."

The unkempt condition in this section of the predominantly black neighborhood, known as the Sub, dampens community spirit, he said. Block by block, Wallace said, the community must cleanse its streets and its soul.

The NAACP plans to begin the process at the corner of Summit Road and Josephine Street on April 21, when it officially opens its new headquarters there and puts on a cookout, cleanup and political forum.

"We feel that we need to make a conscious effort in terms of economic development within our city, and to initiate that, we felt we first needed to start by making an effort to clean up and beautify the local community," Wallace said.

Neighbors cheered the idea. The government has not helped residents of the Sub, they said, and in many ways it has hurt the area by squandering federal grants intended to help the community and enforcing strict building and parking codes that forced many businesses out.

The NAACP plans to talk about the area's economic and parking needs with county commissioners Tuesday.

"We have nothing down here," said Willie Gaynor, who lives across Summit Road from the NAACP's new office and keeps his garden and yard nearly pristine behind a chain-link fence. "We don't have recreation. We have no businesses except for Fred's General Store. And it's been very difficult for us to get a loan. It's been that way since I've been here, and I've been here almost 60 years."

If the NAACP and residents spruce up the neighborhood, Gaynor said, "It would make it look better and lift some of our spirits, whatever little we can get done here."

Howard Delaine was painting the front of his vacant former restaurant on the opposite corner of Josephine from the NAACP office. He hasn't sold ribs or chicken for close to seven years -- "Most of them say to get good barbecue they have to go to Dade City" -- yet he still tries to keep the yard neat and the building presentable.

The effort often seems in vain.

"I clean up along the drive; they throw beer bottles down," Delaine said, glancing toward a pile of glass and cigarette butts he had raked up.

He hoped the presence of the NAACP office and its employees and visitors might deter some of the littering, drug dealing and other undesirable activities that occur in the area.

The community deserves more than an eyesore, Wallace said.

"So we're going to start with the effort, first of all making this particular site a centerpiece," he said, referring to the corner of Summit and Josephine. "We want this site to be a focal point, not only in terms of beautification but in terms of a place where people can be served."

Information about the census, voting and jobs will be offered at the new office, Wallace said. About two-thirds of the building also should be available for businesses after it is fully renovated, he said.

"We're going to do this as a model project," he said.

To support the cleanup, the Hernando County Commission has waived its regular landfill dumping fee of about $150. Commissioner Chris Kingsley praised the effort at a recent meeting and said the commission should do more to back the April 21 event and future endeavors to keep Summit clean.

Richard Howell, who lives just south of the NAACP office, is helping pull together the activities. He said he hopes the day will mark the resurgence of a recently quiet organization.

"We want to say the NAACP is back and trying to do something," Howell said. "The NAACP hasn't shown the people anything in a long, long time."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.