NS. PETERSBURG – The St. Petersburg Junior League started planning the 2022 Mayor’s Ball, an event that its members have hosted for every mayor since Rick Baker’s election into a second term in 2006, the world’s largest city.
So the organizers of the Junior League went under the big top with the circus-inspired theme. Promotional materials were illustrated with a large big top and a black pelican with a top hat. And, as they say, in an attempt to be inclusive and COVID-19 safe, they chose the Factory, an outdoor venue in the Warehouse Arts District near Midtown – a departure from previous balls at the Colosseum and the Mahaffey- Theatre.
Ken Welch, who was recklessly elected the city’s first black mayor months later, didn’t love it. Several community leaders openly criticized the issue and the change in venue to less glamorous digs.
The elected mayor declined his invitation. And the event planned for the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend without a guest of honor was officially canceled late Tuesday.
Social media setback
Prominent leaders of the African American community in St. Petersburg used social media for the past two weeks to denounce an event they felt was disrespectful and inappropriate for the first black mayor of a city with racist roots. What, they said, deserved all the pomp of past mayors.
“It has nothing to do with a circus, clowns, or animals,” said Rev JC Pritchett, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. “He’s a gentleman. A friendly gentleman and official. “
Pritchett, a native of St. Petersburg, said African Americans were not allowed to attend if the circus was in town. Instead, they went to the Bayfront Center, now Mahaffey, to watch the animals unload.
“The words we use and the images we use hurt our city and our history,” he said. “It is inappropriate for us to hold the mayor’s ball in a warehouse and in a parking lot.”
Decades ago, St. Petersburg was a city where blacks were not allowed to go downtown except for work. Black cops couldn’t patrol white neighborhoods and blacks couldn’t sit on iconic green benches.
Some community leaders say it will be the mayor’s second public rejection since he was elected in November. It will be inaugurated on January 6th.
Earlier this year, the Greater St. Petersburg YMCA changed the name of its annual prayer breakfast, launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks. What used to be called the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast is now called the Congregational Prayer Breakfast and is scheduled for February 8th.
Spokeswoman Catherine Mitchell said the name change was made to make it clear that the event will be funded, staffed and run entirely by the YMCA, not the city. The decision to change the name was made in March. It was officially renamed in April.
“The timing of the event’s name change is unfortunate and we apologize for any concern raised by this announcement,” said Mitchell. “The Greater St. Petersburg YMCA recognizes that the election of the elected mayor, Ken Welch, the first black mayor of St. Petersburg, marks a significant and important moment in the history of our city. We are excited that our prayer breakfast can be one of the first major events where he can speak to our community and bring us together, which is the ultimate goal of the YMCA Community Prayer Breakfast. “
Councilor Deborah Figgs-Sanders posted on Facebook that her heart was broken, which is “a really tearful moment”. Dozens of commentators expressed their mutual disappointment.
“I think that was a bad leadership decision now,” said Figgs-Sanders, who worked for the YMCA for seven years, in an interview on Wednesday afternoon. “Why change this year? Do it next year. Although it may have been unintentional, it was obvious. You can’t confuse the community with how they responded to this name change. It was the mayor’s prayer breakfast for 20 years. “
Welch’s RSVP for the YMCA event is pending.
“A teachable moment”
Welch, who is out of town and attending New Mayor’s Seminar at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Politics, declined an interview request but said through a spokeswoman in a statement that he and his team were “in no way” with the Planning or organization of the junior league mayor’s ball.
“The diversity of St. Petersburg is our greatest strength and our community events must be inclusive and representative of everyone who lives here,” he said. “This is a teachable moment for many and we should always be open to learning together.”
Junior League spokeswoman Lisa Brock said the event was scheduled for March, three months before the field of mayoral candidates was set. She said it will take months to plan the event and raise funds.
The mayor’s balls have always been themed. At the last ball in 2014, Mayor Rick Kriseman was honored at a Wizards of Oz event entitled “There is no place like St. Petersburg”.
When the Junior League learned Welch wasn’t on board with this year’s theme, Brock said the organization had offered to change the theme despite decorations and signage already ordered. The Junior League would have to raise more money to pay for a new issue, but said Welch’s camp did not respond to requests to meet.
“A ball is not wearable without the Guest of Honor,” said Brock. “The Junior League respects the mayor’s right to make whatever decisions he wants. It’s disappointing. The hope is that in the future they can jointly achieve something that is important for the mayor and the junior league. “
She said the Junior League added a board position that focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion.
“They seek to actively listen and listen, not just from the mayor and mayor, but also from other black leaders who are different from what members of the Junior League have seen,” Brock said. “They want to make it clear that their goal is and will remain to honor the city of St. Petersburg and to welcome the new mayor.”
Mayor Rick Baker and his wife Joyce have the first dance at the Mayor’s First Inaugural Ball at the Coliseum on January 20, 2006, sponsored by the Junior League of St. Petersburg. [ LARA CERRI | St. Petersburg Times ]
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