Connie Burton booted from home and WMNF

Connie Burton just lost a second trial over her eviction from public housing at the Robles Park Housing Project. (Tampa Housing Authority Critic's Eviction Stands - Tampa Tribune 4/29/05)

Connie Burton is a controversial figure. She is a member of the Uhuru Movement. a group that has organized many demonstrations and rallies about issues facing the African American community. She is a vocal and constant critic of local government and of what she perceived to be institutional and individual racism. She was a president of the Robles Parks Resident Council for years until removed from the post by the Tampa Housing Authority. She was arrested for inciting a riot and for battery on a police officer. She was acquitted on those charges.

The Tampa Housing Authority sought to first evict her after her 19 year old son was arrested in 1999 for posession of drugs with intent to sell At the time he was on the lease to the apartment and this arrest violated the "one strike and you are out policy" ( See also Tampa Trib 4/26/05.) She appealed her first loss and lost that appeal but was then granted this new trial when it was found a juror had slept through the trial.

An essential piece to the eviction is that she placed her son the lease so see could participate in a Housing Authority job training program. During the course of this eviction process she has denied that her son lived there. This means she was lying to the housing authority when she put her son on the lease. Or she was lying to the courts when she said he did not live there. (Of course to put this matter in perspective, how many parents lie when they have their child go to a school outside their zone and then give the school the address of a relative in that zone and say the child is living there.)

This loss comes shortly after the decison in January by radio station WMNF to terminate Ms. Burton's talk radio show Straight Talk.

According to March 5 St. Pete Times article WMNF terminated her

"..........saying she was divisive, used hate speech and raised money for the Uhuru movement, WMNF's board of directors upheld a management decision to take Burton off the air.........the board found that Burton's shows often featured the terms "traitors," "uncle Tom" and "black butt kissers" to describe some community
leaders.

Also, Burton pushed the Uhuru Movement, often announcing upcoming meetings, rallies or other Uhuru-sponsored events. At one point last year, Burton solicited donations on air for the Uhuru Movement, according to a WMNF timeline."

Connie Burton has a right to say whatever she wants even if it is ugly and meanspirited. However that does not mean she has the right to do so at WMNF. Let her get on another radio station (If any will have her, as WMNF is the second radio station she tried ot have a show on.) Let her create her own microstation. Let her get a blog.

What I find interesting is that she is unemployed and has been for years. Nowhere have I read that she is disabled. She managed to host a radio show for 9 years so she does not lack the intellectual functioning to hold a job. A neighbor says she is a good speaker as long as she does not lose it. Is she unemployed because she just "does not play well with others." Or does she enjoy being a victim? Or does she enjoy the spotlight too much? Or did she not learn how to separate what goes on outside of work from what goes on the job and keeps getting fired? Or is there some other reason?

She lives in a 4 bedroom apartment with her 6-year-old grandaughter. I'm sure the other tenants with more family members would love to have an apartment where they could have two extra rooms. Is she being selfish?

One thought I have is that Ms. Burton makes it easier for a more moderate group to get things done with government because they can point to her and say "it is either us or this rabblerouser." Rabblerousing has a place in activism. We have used it in our neighborhood However to be an effective activist you need to move on beyond rabblerousing and be willing to come up with solutions and work side by side with government. So for that reason is Connie Burton and by extension the Uhuru movement ineffective in their causes?

Ms. Burton's supporters have a website.