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Ronnie Phelps: Bringing People Together at a Local Festival, Florida

As told by Ronnie Phelps
Sarasota, Florida

Story Narrative:

A man has short, cropped black hair and a black polo shirt.

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.

Ronnie Phelps: I'm Ronnie. I'm from the neighborhood of Newtown. I've been involved in the Martin Luther King Festival now for 22 years. I set up everything in the park. I host it, I perform in it, and I set up the entertainment. It is on that particular day that I have Sarasota, as a whole community, is there in the park, all different races, all different colors. I love it because it shows us this is what really look like. It's not just the Longboat Key, Siesta Key, where the majority of it is not mixed. But in the Martin Luther King Festival in the park is when you see the blend of everybody. At that moment, it looks like America. I love it because young folks come out. You have the young, the old, the clergy, the police, fire chief, people running for office. And as I stand back, sometimes when I'm on stage and I may be doing... I look around, I'm like, "Wow, look at all this."

(01:13) And everybody's happy. Everybody's smiling. There is no problems. You have the policemen and you maybe have a guy who maybe normally would say, "Man, I don't like being around the police," but he's there. And they're purchasing food and they're intertwining and they're engaging each other. And there's nothing happening. Out of all the 22 years, there's never been not one problem. And I said to myself, "Well, isn't that amazing?" The children are there. The police engaging with the children. The clergy engaging with the children. Even some of the ones who we may say in the community, maybe most undesirable, are there and everybody's engaging in a friendly manner. That's the moment. That's the day. Even though it's chaotic for me, every time I do it, to set everything up, I enjoy that day so much.

(02:06) My mom, she's 88 years old now. I've watched the older folks who sit up front, you know what I'm saying? And they watch the show and they watch the program. And then the vendors come in and they're selling the food. You have non-profit organizations come in. The Republican Party may have a table there, the Democratic Party have a table there. And it is just the collaboration itself, it's a microcosm of what the United States really is. And for that reason, they always could count on me to do it because I just love what it looks like. And maybe I'm a dreamer, but I believe in it that I said, "This is who we really are." You know what I'm saying? I really want to see that, not just for that day, but for the rest of... So, I enjoy that. I enjoy the fact that when the candidates, if it's an electoral year, the candidates come up, "Are you Ronnie?" "Yeah. Oh yeah." "Listen, I'm running for city commissioner or this in district one."

(03:09) So I'm like, "Okay, so what is it exactly?" "Well, I just want to know if I can come and introduce myself." I asked him, I said, "Has anybody in this community ever seen you before? Is this the first time the people in the community have seen you? When did you make the decision to run for public office? Three months ago for a district, a community that you have not spent one day in? So my question to you is, what are you going to tell them because they don't know you?" I said, "Familiar, la Familia, family. To be familiar with something is to be able to communicate with it." I said, "A person will not listen to me unless I feed them, so you have to have spent time with them if you expect them to listen to you. I will give you the platform, but I can't give you the expectation what you think what you're going to get in return."

(03:58) I tell every individual who's running for public office and who wants to take that stage. I explained to them, I said, "They're not going to be receptive because they don't know you, and you haven't taken the time to get to know them and their concerns. You can't walk in their house and say, 'Hey listen, I want to be the person to take over your household.' I don't know you. Why would I trust you with my household or my family. And I don't know what your plans are. And just say, 'Well, just trust me.' No person would do that. You have to get to know these people. You have intimately to say, 'I will be the one you come through with your concerns." And that's what I try to tell every time, every year, every time that we have the MLK in this electoral year. And the candidates, they're going to come, they're going to be there this coming January the 20th.

(04:41) I know they will be showing up, "I'm such-and-such and I want to be able to come up and speak." You know what I'm saying? I've had all the mayors in the past, Willie Shaw, Fred Atkins, all the mayors, everybody who's ever ran for mayor, I was there campaigning with them, so they all know me. All the police chiefs, they all know me. And because I know all of them, I've seen the transition, I've seen the successes and the failures of the ones who ran for office. But I wouldn't trade in my position for the world. I love working for the MLK celebration because it's a celebration that actually brings all of us together, this particular festival does in this particular community. And I love it. It's chaotic, it's crazy, but I love it.


Asset ID: 2022.36.03.a-b
Themes: Festivals, Martin Luther King, Jr., Multiculturalism, Optimism, Traditions, Community, Seniors, Political Parties, Collaboration, Melting Pot, Public Office, Politicians, Listening, Race
Date recorded: January 9, 2020
Length of recording: 0:05:27
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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