Florida Senate - 2010 (NP) SR 2856
By Senator Bullard
39-04099A-10 20102856__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing the outstanding professional
3 achievements of Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi and her spirit
4 of volunteerism in Miami-Dade County and the world
5 community.
6
7 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi was born on June 12, 1950,
8 in Chicago, Illinois, to the late Ray and Janie Porter, whom she
9 shared with one sister, Carol Brooks, and
10 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi humbly embraced the joys
11 of motherhood, evidenced through her tireless devotion to her
12 sons, Kofi, Wanakhavi, and Mupalia, and her daughter, Naliaka,
13 all of whom earned college degrees, and her granddaughters,
14 Makylah and Nailah Harpring, and
15 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi pursued her education in
16 Chicago, first at Corpus Christi Catholic Elementary School and,
17 later, at Loretto Academy, and went on to attend Mundelein
18 College, which is now a part of Loyola University, where she
19 received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1972, and
20 WHEREAS, in 1977, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi received a Master
21 of Science degree in journalism from Northwestern University,
22 and
23 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi’s professional writing
24 career began in 1973, when she served as an editorial assistant
25 at Johnson Publishing Company’s Black Stars Magazine and the
26 Chicago Daily News, and now spans 37 years, including her tenure
27 as an assistant editor at the Detroit News and the Miami Herald,
28 as a reporter at the Palladium-Item and the Kansas City Star,
29 and as an associate editor at the Plain Dealer, and
30 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi presently invests her time
31 and talents in her work at the University of Miami’s School of
32 Communication, where she serves as an adjunct associate
33 professor and as managing editor of the Miami News Service, and
34 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi has authored more than 57
35 articles, which have appeared in diverse publications including
36 the NAACP’s Crisis Magazine, the Miami Times, the South Florida
37 Sun-Sentinel, The Lutheran, the Orlando Sentinel, and the Miami
38 Herald, and
39 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi has influenced the lives
40 of youth throughout this state as the director of the Peace
41 Sullivan/James Ansin High School Summer in Journalism and New
42 Media Workshop at the University of Miami, which introduces high
43 school students to the field of professional journalism, and
44 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi has twice received the
45 “Excellence in Teaching Award” from the University of Miami, has
46 been a classroom volunteer in the Miami-Dade County public
47 schools, a member of the executive board of the Miami-Dade
48 NAACP, the board of trustees of Ransom Everglades School, and
49 countless community organizations, and is a frequent speaker at
50 conferences and seminars, and
51 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi is an unsung hero,
52 evidenced by her service to the Greater South Florida community
53 as the founder and current advisor of the NAACP Youth Council
54 (South Dade Branch), which increases voter participation among
55 the youth and exposes them to civic engagement, and her service
56 as a state judge during the NAACP’s ACT-SO (African-American,
57 Cultural, Technical, and Scientific Organization) and as
58 coordinator of the annual “Juneteenth” Celebration, which
59 commemorates African American Emancipation Day, and
60 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi’s most notable
61 accomplishments lie in the loving care she rendered to her
62 mother, Janie, as she advanced in age and fragility; her hunger
63 strike, which brought attention to the plight of Haitian
64 refugees held at Guantanamo Bay; her protest of and fervent
65 opposition to South Africa’s Apartheid; and her active
66 involvement and participation in Haiti Relief Efforts in the
67 wake of the devastating, 7.0-magnitude earthquake, and
68 WHEREAS, Tsitsi Dzamwari Wakhisi identifies situations that
69 threaten the quality of life of humankind and writes thought
70 provoking articles to bring awareness to the prevalent issues of
71 our time, including racial equality, socio-economic empowerment,
72 and public service, NOW, THEREFORE,
73
74 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
75
76 That the members of the Senate recognize Tsitsi Dzamwari
77 Wakhisi for her outstanding professional accomplishments and her
78 spirit of volunteerism in Miami-Dade County and the world
79 community.
80 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
81 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Tsitsi Dzamwari
82 Wakhisi as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida
83 Senate.