FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Racquel White
770-778-0443
FOUNDATION CREATED TO CONTINUE LEGACY OF MOSES WHITE
- The Moses White Foundation created to improve lives of underprivileged in Tampa;
- Honors late civil rights, business and community leader Moses White;
- Greco, Adcock and Hearns on Inaugural Board
Tampa, FL, Friday, August 30, 2019: The Moses White Foundation has been created to improve the quality of life for the underprivileged in Tampa through youth advancement, community revitalization and individual empowerment.
Known as a successful business owner throughout Tampa, Moses White was also a famed civil rights leader and community advocate. Moses White was known as a calming voice during the height of the civil unrest in the late 1960s, not only by facilitating needed conversations, but also by feeding first responders and rioters alike.
As an ambassador and champion on behalf of the Black community to the government and mainstream audiences, Moses White was committed to improving the conditions for his people. He built a sense of community through events such as Easter egg hunts, Thanksgiving turkey giveaways and Christmas food baskets.
“When Central Avenue was going downhill, he (Moses White) was the one who motivated us to get the federal funds to clean up that area,” says former Tampa Mayor and Moses White Foundation Board Member Dick Greco. “When we had the riots down there on Central Avenue (1967), he fed all the police and firemen for days.”
Moses White had businesses on Central Avenue and Main Street – the Palm Dinette (Tampa’s first sit-down restaurant for people of color), a rooming house, the Deluxe Cozy Corner and Club Rayals. Parks of Main Street were renamed Moses White Boulevard in 2001. He was also honored by the Bay Area National Conference of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Awards Dinner in the 1970s and by the naming of the Moses White Estates in 2011, an affordable housing development.
“As the Mayor of Central Avenue, Mr. White was the one you would look to for leadership and guidance,” remembers Tampa Historian and Moses White Foundation Board Member Fred Hearns. “When you saw him, you thought of the possibilities in your life and that you could own businesses, and you could be self-sufficient. And in addition to being a successful businessperson, you could give back to the community in a number of different ways. I’m happy that his memory is going to be kept alive through this foundation.”
With Tampa having a 20% poverty rate, the Moses White Foundation will focus on the most vulnerable communities with the idea that improving opportunities and enhancing lives through education, community members will create better lives for themselves and reinvest back into our communities.
In keeping with the legacy of Moses White, the Moses White Foundation will focus on:
- Traditional and Vocational Scholarships
- Community Revitalization Initiatives
As President of the Moses White Foundation, White’s son Andre Moses White says, “My father meant so much to so many people. I’m so proud that we’ve created this Foundation to carry on his work in the community that he loved. We look forward to others joining in our mission of uplifting the community and creating opportunities for advancement.”
The inaugural Board’s first board meeting took place this month. The Board is comprised of business and community leaders who knew Moses White personally, as well as family members committed to helping the Tampa community. The inaugural Board Members are:
- Andre Moses White, Son* and President of the Moses White Foundation
- Michael Adcock, Adcock-Adcock Insurance Agency, Inc.
- Bobby Bowden, Former City of Tampa Official
- Robyn Gordon, Grandchild*
- Richard Gonzmart, Columbia Restaurant Group
- Dick Greco, Former Mayor of Tampa
- Fred Hearns, Tampa Historian and PhD candidate
- Bernadine White King, Daughter*
- Gene Osteen, GO Enterprises
- Zachary King, Grandchild*
- Andre R. White, Grandchild*
- Racquel White, Grandchild*
* indicates familial relationship to Moses White
ABOUT THE MOSES WHITE FOUNDATION
Guided by the belief that education and opportunity provide a path to self-sufficiency and success, The Moses White Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of Tampa’s most underprivileged and at-risk community members. Focusing on traditional and vocational scholarships, as well as community revitalization, the Moses White Foundation aims to create strategic partnerships that will enable those it serves to advance in life with a sense of community, self-reliance and accomplishment that leads to poverty reduction and a sustainable thriving Tampa community.
Photo Identification: The Moses White Foundation Board
Standing (l-r): Dick Greco, Andre Moses White, Gene Osteen, Bobby Bowden, Andre R. White Sitting (l-r): Fred Hearns, Michael Adcock, Racquel White, Robyn Gordon
Not Pictured: Bernadine White King, Zachary King, and Richard Gonzmart