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Representative Newt Newton: Building Bridges Across the Political Divide, Florida

As told by Newt Newton
Sarasota, Florida

Story Narrative:

A man with a dark-colored suit and glasses sits in front of a yellow wall at a library.

In early 2020 (just weeks before the pandemic), Smithsonian staff and their storytelling partners at the Peale, Baltimore, traveled to multiple states in the U.S. to ask residents of those states about voting experiences, the current state of American democracy, what issues brought them to the polls, how they made a difference in their communities, and what Americans' civic responsibilities were, among other complex questions.

Wengay “Newt” Newton: Well, what I've learned in my 13 years of governance is that it is a process, and you have to be involved in that process, and you build bridges. I mean, I've been all over this country. And also, I forged relationships with people from every corner of it. And we just attended a National Black Caucus of State Legislatures in Fort Lauderdale, and we had four to 500 state representatives and senators, all African American. Our keynote speaker was Mr. Freddie Gray. He was just on the tail end of coming back from dedicating the monument in DC for Rosa Park. Freddie Gray was Rosa Park's attorney. He was also Dr. Martin Luther King's attorney. And when he stood up there at 86 years old, what he told us, he said, "I got the invitation from the Florida Black Caucus of State Legislatures, and I didn't know I was going to be here, but I knew once I got this invitation, I had to be here and I did everything I could and I'm here."

(01:08) And he said as he looks out over the audience, he said, "This is the dream that Dr. King had." He said, "You guys are elected in your own right all throughout the country, men and women, African American," he said, "but it's also up to you to make sure that every facet of racism is abolished." He said, "It's not real visible now. It's hidden in the laws and the Constitution and a lot of these states and in this municipalities, so it's up to you to weed that out," and this is what he meant by it.

(01:51) I met a guy from Iowa, it was two young ladies from Jersey. Had one from Dallas. We had a speaker, I didn't know they had a speaker, out of Philly, you know what I'm saying? A female, black female. So the process has taught me you can have everything you need, and a lot of plights and stuff that you are going through, people are going through the same thing in their respective cities and states and municipalities.

(02:21) So you can network, you could be able to bring back good ideas, what's working for them, what's not working, benchmark, and all that was important. Also, being able to finagle through those shark-infested waters and bring home your appropriate share of that $92 billion budget in appropriations back to you district, that's huge, and that take relationships because you have Senate president priorities, you have speaker priorities, and you have governor priorities. So you can get through the Senate president and speaker and get it into the budget, but it's still got to get by the governor and the veto pen.

(02:59) And the relationship we have, I get a phone call from the governor, he said "Newton, anything in the budget?" I'm like, "Yeah, I got something in the budget," but that's about building relationships, even though I'm in the minority party. And it's politics. Like I said, it's a process, a process that determine whom gets where, when, and how much. And minus the alphabet, life's great. I think they put the R and D in there to confuse us and have us at each other's throat. But at the end of the day, it's, what are you bringing back? Are you moving the needle as it pertains to the people in your district who might have issues and challenges?


Asset ID: 2022.36.02.a-b
Themes: Politics, Politicians, Black Caucus, Rosa Parks, Freddie Gray, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Racism, Networking, Budgeting, Districts, Government, Political Process, Political Parties, Relationship, Coalition Building
Date recorded: January 9, 2020
Length of recording: 0:03:38
Related traveling exhibition: Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Betty J. Johnson North Sarasota Library, in conjunction with Florida Humanities
More information or related assets: https://sarasotanewsleader.com/smithsonian-institution-exhibit-voices-and-votes-democracy-in-america-to-be-on-display-through-oct-10-at-betty-j-johnson-north-sarasota-public-library/

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