ONYX ON THE MOVE
BIKERZ READY FOR JAMBOREE
Visit Tampa Bay President and CEO Santiago Corrada stands in front of a Polaris Slingshot, a three-wheeled motor vehicle.
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isit Tampa Bay and the City of Tampa kicked off the upcoming United Bikerz Jamboree in April. Our friend Sherri Brown, the vice president of Multicultural Sales and Development at Visit Tampa Bay, was successful in booking the gathering, which will host 10,000+ bikers in July. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor applauded Jamboree organizer Chris “Top” Hill for safely hosting a scaled down version of the event during the pandemic in 2020. “Since then, we have shown how…we can have safe events. We can look out, first and foremost, for the health of our community and we can also, not only lift up economically, but lift our spirits up as well,” she said. The City estimates the event will bring about $8 million in revenue. Bikers from clubs across the nation will attend the Jamboree. One is Retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major Anthony Smith who joined the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club in 2011. “I’ll tell you, it’s an experience,” Smith said of belonging to the club. “We have been all over the world.” The Buffalo Soldiers have 122 chapters across the world, including eight in Florida. The club gets its moniker from the 1866 Black Calvary of the same name. Dubbed “Buffalo Soldiers” by the Native Americans who fought in the Indian Wars, the six all-Black calvary and infantry were a part of the 10th Calvary Regiment of the United States Army, formed at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Bikers are not only known for riding, but also for their philanthropy. They donate food, clothes, toys, and money throughout their communities. The Jamboree will be held July 1-4, 2021, and admission will be $40.
Bikerz Chris “Top” Hill and “Duba D” Visit Tampa Bay VP Sherri Brown, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle and Troopers President Anthony Smith.
BASEBALL GREAT BUCK O’NEIL EXHIBIT BRINGS FOLKS TOGETHER
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irst baseman, manager and the first Black Major League Baseball coach who became one of the game’s brightest stars, Buck O’Neil returned home to Sarasota in February in an exhibition. Titled “Buck O’Neil: Right On Time,” the presentation was on loan to the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition (SAACC) from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City. And while reception guests had to say goodbye to the late Kansas City Monarch’s player when the show closed, they got to say hello to an MLB outfielder: Ian Desmond. Desmond, a former Colorado Rockies player, grew up in Sarasota. COVID-19 brought him back to the area. Struck with a desire to give back, he recently created Newtown Connection, a baseball program in Newtown Estates Park for kids 6 to 12 years old. “Walter Gilbert was my coach. Buck O’Neil’s a coach,” he said, pointing to Kansas City Monarchs player Leon Harris, who was coached by O’Neil. “And now I’m coach to kids in Newtown Estates Park. The way that we’ve all intertwined and the way that Buck O’Neil is at the center of this is exactly who Buck was. No one is talking about Buck’s stats and hopefully one day
Dr. Lawrence Miller, Mrs. Laura Harris, Leon Harris, Kansas City Monarchs player during the 1953-54 season, and Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball player Ian Desmond attended the reception.
no one’s talking about my stats. We’ll be talking about the men that we are and the men that we’ve raised up.” SAACC will host more traveling exhibits. “Beaches, Benches and Boycotts,” a show about Civil Rights history in Tampa Bay presented by the Florida Holocaust Museum, is upcoming. An exhibition and series of workshops featuring Florida Highwaymen artists will be showcased in partnership with Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota. Story By Vickie Oldham. Photos courtesy of Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition ONYX MAGAZINE 35
