In Hillsborough County, we have HOPE for justice!
The History of HOPE
During the fall of 1986, preliminary discussions on building a direct action organization to address the root causes of ongoing poverty and violence began among clergy in the African American community of East Tampa. This led to the formation of the Tampa Metropolitan Action Organization Sponsoring Committee (TMAOSC) in March 1987, with Rev. J. L. Overstreet, President.
TMAOSC then held a town hall meeting with 400 people to get input on community problems, prioritizing: crime, neighborhood infrastructure, traffic safety, affordable housing, jobs, education, parks, and supervised recreation. After two years of discussions and organizing, on September 11, 1988, 500 people from 15 congregations held the founding Convention of the Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality, HOPE, as a vehicle for achieving systemic justice.
Elder Don Horne Jr., HOPE’s first elected President and former pastor of Solid Rock Baptist Church said, “We’re not an organization of reactionaries, but of visionaries…we are willing to take direct action straight to the source of the problem.”
Past Presidents of HOPE also include: Rev. Young Glover and Deacon Jack Cottman of College Hill Baptist Church; Bishop Willard Lee of New Smyrna Full Gospel Cathedral, Rev. Joe L. Johnson of Trinity Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Yoemy Waller of Resurrection Catholic Church, Rev. Dr. Robert Gibbs of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, Rev. Aaron Hobley of Hood Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Fr. Bob Schneider of St. Stephen Catholic Church, Cynthia Jones of Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson of First United Church of Tampa, Rev. Dr. Anthony White of Bible-Based Fellowship Church, Rev. Michael Price of Victory African Methodist Episcopal Church, Pastor Brad Cassell of Tampa First Seventh Day Adventist Church, and Fr. John Tapp of Nativity Catholic Church.
Our Future Together
Since 1988, HOPE has united diverse congregations to work together to transform our community. We tackled serious issues in the areas of education, homelessness, criminal justice, affordable housing, mental health, and health care.
HOPE has a big goal of bringing together over 5,000 people from 30 diverse congregations at our annual Nehemiah Action to transform our community.
Each year, our membership grows as more community members and congregations recognize the power in coming together to do justice. However you feel called to do justice, whether it is God’s call or your innate sense of fairness and compassion, please join us!