UCF brought apartheid to Parramore - COMMENTARY

Apartheid is now in full effect in Orlando’s historically black Parramore community.

For those who have forgotten, apartheid is the racially vicious system formerly utilized by the white minority in South Africa to repress and marginalize the black majority.

The latest blow in Parramore fell Monday (8/26) with the opening of the “downtown” joint campus for the University of Central Florida and Valencia College.

White college and city officials and their black underlings love to babble happy talk as though UCF “Downtown” and Creative Village are good for Parramore.

What has been built, and the way it was built, are not good for Parramore residents.

They are the latest in a series of “urban development” projects designed to eradicate Parramore and most of its residents. Those other projects included the Orlando Arena, Amway Events Center, Exploria Stadium (Orlando City soccer) and pricey housing.

Construction of the soccer stadium that permanently blocked Parramore Avenue -- the main east-west thoroughfare in Parramore – was particularly brutal. This was done without conducting a traffic survey. This construction executed a classic military strategy – divide and conquer.

During the past 20 years, the Parramore population shrank from 20,000 to 4,500 with many homes/apartments eliminated by the real-estate speculators and “urban development.”

The UCF Parramore campus is a shining example of “white privilege.”

It was built with no serious consultation or discussion with long-time black Parramore residents.

Before school began this week, the UCF leaders deemed Parramore residents are so insignificant that they didn’t hold a community open house to invite residents to come and tour. Actually, they conducted a few invitation-only events for hand-picked residents. But for the guy who lives in Parramore and cuts lawns for a living, or the woman who cleans rooms on I-Drive – the message was: Stay away!

Yet some members of the UCF community begged university leaders to be inclusive and thoughtful neighbors.

Earlier this week, after 32805OrlNews.com published an article reporting on the opening of UCF Downtown, I found a message thread on Facebook responding to the article that said:

“There needs to be a stronger situational awareness and commitment to community that the university supposedly advocates. It's a shame that citizenship and integrity seem to go out the window when the university has expansion goals. They're openly complicit in systematic oppression. I wish that there was some movement that was more visible that could question their lack of support to the surrounding area, but I'm sure that they wouldn't listen.”

The writer continued: “In an effort to improve/expand UCF they are part of a system that is promoting support of the “pretty” and “desirable” things while overlooking the real-world community that could use that attention and positive change.”

Another writer on the thread wrote: “There are faculty who tried to get administrators to address these issues before the project began. One idea was to actually involve faculty experts in urban studies fields. But instead, they put a real estate developer in charge.”

To that, a woman on the thread responded: “I'm sorry that they didn't listen to you all. It's frustrating to know that faculty recognized this and made steps to address the growing gentrification before it happened. It goes to show how little they listen to informed input.”

A fellow on the thread wanted to know: “What steps could/should have been taken? I know gentrification is bad, but I have no concept of how to combat it other than not building stuff, would like to learn.”

One of the other women on the thread wrote: “I think that the first step should have been to actually listen to the Parramore residents on what they need. They haven't been quiet about it, the university just ignored it and proceeded anyway. I definitely can't claim to be the expert on this. I would say that most gentrification occurs when people don't listen to what the people living there actually want and instead go with what will serve only their own interests.”

UCF Downtown is not Parramore’s friend.

Check out what UCF did before they opened the Parramore campus?

They installed their own police department, just like the U.S. government did when it built frontier forts in the West and Great Plains to “protect” white settlers from the indigenous people who lived on that land for 15,000 years.

How long before UCF cops start issuing trespass warnings to Parramore kids hanging out on campus?

UCF could not have done any of this without Orlando City Hall.

The city gave UCF the property for the campus. The city paid millions to clean up pollution on that land, at the same time the city can’t seem to find the money for a health-disparity study of Parramore residents.

The city is also paying $7 million to develop a park on the UCF campus, yet it’s taken the city more than 30 years to come up with the money to update and renovate Lake Lorna Doone Park – and is that park really intended for west side residents or fans attending events at Camping World Stadium (formerly the Citrus Bowl)?

The city -- working with Lynx -- even planned an apartheid bus system for the UCF campus. A couple of years ago the Lymmo Lime Line (free bus circulator) was introduced. The route serves the soccer stadium and campus area, but purposely leaves out Parramore streets where most residents live.

I remember when Buddy Dyer was first elected Orlando mayor. He won thanks to black voters who were turned off by racist comments made by his opponent. I voted for Dyer. I was there when Dyer was sworn in and spoke from the front steps of City Hall promising to rebuild Parramore.

“You can measure my success as mayor of Orlando by my ability to rebuild this once-proud neighborhood,” he told the crowd.

Today, thanks to gentrification ushered in by Dyer, many longtime Parramore residents can barely afford eye-popping rents or property taxes in their own neighborhood.

Is Dyer rebuilding “this once-proud neighborhood,” or is he killing it?

You decide.

This commentary was written by David Porter, publisher of 32805OrlNews.com. Porter has more 30 years of journalism experience and formerly served as a columnist, editorial writer and newsroom leader at The Orlando Sentinel. www.32805OrlNews is a news source that covers marginalized communities in Orlando.