On the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s ‘fiery’ speech at Tinker Field, community organizations gathered on Thursday evening to march against the city of Orlando’s plan, currently on hold, to demolish the historic sports venue.
Initially part of the Citrus Bowl renovation, following an outcry, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer ordered a halt to tearing down the grandstands and buildings at historic Tinker Field, although the final outcome is unclear.
Representatives of participating groups in yesterday’s protest, including NAN- Central Florida Chapter, Fight Back Coalition, Women of Color-Leadership Coalition and Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), all condemned the city’s plan to demolish the ‘most historic of all the Orlando Venues entertainment and sports venues,’ saying, “We are marching against destructive policies that are destroying our Community.”
Dr. Charlie Jean Salter, who went to Tinker Field to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak on March 6, 1964, was also present yesterday. She believes the priorities of both the city and county are misplaced.
“We need to re-prioritize and deal with the serious issues which are homelessness, a deplorable education system and poverty,” she said. “We have 10,000 children that are homeless in the city and you are talking about building a soccer field. This is wrong. And you run out a church for a soccer field – you can put a soccer field anywhere.”
Salter roundly condemned the planned tearing down of Tinker Field. “I think it’s awful, there is so much history here and one of the greatest men who ever lived came here; I want to see it stand,” she said.
She lamented the lack of leaders today, in the African-American community. “I am a fighter…I believe in doing the right thing. If we are talking progress, we have to lift everyone up, not just some of us,” she said.
Former chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party, Doug Head, who was present at Thursday’s protest, believes, over the years the city of Orlando has done little to preserve its history and the plan to demolish Tinker Field is just another example.
“I think we need to preserve some of our past as we are going forward,” he said. “The tendency in Orlando is to forget the past and always talk about the next project. That’s gotten to be an illness almost.”
Head thinks there’s a way to restore much of Tinker Field’s old appearance and preserve it. He believes the city of Orlando’s plan to turn Tinker Field into a paved parking lot will be defeated.
“It’s absolutely essential that the grass be kept grass, that the field be kept sacred. That really is sacred territory,” he said.
Mike Cantone, former city of Orlando Mayoral candidate, thinks even as Orlando grows, there must be a balance between preserving history and culture with new developments taking place.
“There has to be a balance between progress and preservation, not only history, but the culture and the community that identifies with downtown Orlando,” he said. “And something that also brings in outsiders and tourists so they can see more of the identity behind Orlando, that it’s not just a tourist attraction.”
He thinks it’s possible to renovate the Citrus Bowl, lose 80 feet from the outfield and still have sufficient space for little league baseball, playoff youth soft ball, as well as softball to be played at Tinker Field.
Cantone, like Head, believes Tinker Field can be saved, although he’s not confident with the current City Council. “I am not confident, but I think that the community can stand up and demand changes. This fight will dictate the changes that come in other projects down the road. So I hope the community stands up.”
Perhaps Head summed up the importance of yesterday’s protest best when he recalled Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words, at Tinker Field in 1964. Then, King urged ‘Negroes’ to exercise their right to vote and spoke of the difficulties encountered when others tried to register. But, he also chided “the Negro for failing to register merely because of ‘complacency, indifference and laziness’,” the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time.
“Remembering Dr. King’s words, it’s my view that we should do what he asked us to do – participate in democracy,” Head said.
