Bradenton community organizer works to empower Sarasota's Newtown community

BRADENTON -- "Potential" is the driving force behind Lou Murray's community activism.

The 71-year-old Bradenton resident said he used to work with urban communities when he lived in Detroit years ago. Retired now, Murray remains active as an executive committee member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People of Manatee County and vice president of the Manatee/Sarasota Democratic Black Caucus of Florida.

Sitting in his home Wednes

day afternoon, Murray spoke about his latest focus: working to empower the residents of Newtown, a heavily African-American community in Sarasota where he goes to church.

"When I got here, I saw a tremendous potential in Newtown, but that it was dormant," Murray said. "There was very little organization -- how they saw themselves was somewhat negative."

Murray is part of a new coalition of concerned citizens called The Newtown Nation, which aims to achieve social and economic parity in the community.

The coalition is staging a free forum at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, 1845 34th St., Sarasota. The event is tied to the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, which stems from Florida teen Trayvon Martin's killing three years ago by Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

U.S. Department of Justice officials announced Tuesday they would not file hate crime charges against Zimmerman.

Issues for the forum include community empowerment, updates on President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing and abuse allegations against the Florida Department of Corrections.

Speakers include state Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, and representatives from American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP and the Sarasota Police Department.

For Murray, The Newtown Nation is a concept.

"It's designed to change the way Newtown sees themselves," he said. "When you ask them about voting and they say, 'My vote don't count,' that's a sign that they don't think that they matter. When you talk to them about changing the neighborhood or getting to City Hall to do something and you hear: 'Well, they do whatever they want to do. They don't listen to us' -- that's another sign of how they see themselves."

President Susie Copeland of the Manatee NAACP will attend the forum, which she described as similar to the forums her chapter held in Manatee County.

"I think it's starting a conversation between the two groups -- the minority community and law enforcement community -- and that is, I believe, where it starts. You have a dialogue," the 65-year-old Bradenton resident said. "How can you come together without having some sort of dialogue? I think that's the objective of this."

Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisCastillo.

This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 12:00 AM.