Black History

City of St. Pete to honor Ray Charles and his song

THE WEEKLY CHALLENGER — The City of St. Petersburg plans to declare Feb. 15 “Ray Charles Day,” with a proclamation and a musical evening at The Studio@620.

Published

6 years ago

January 26, 2019

Oakland Post

By The Weekly Challenger

ST. PETERSBURG — The City of St. Petersburg plans to declare Feb. 15 “Ray Charles Day,” with a proclamation and a musical evening at The Studio@620. A group of presenters and local musicians will showcase the legacy of Ray Charles, whose first recorded song in 1950 was “The St. Pete Florida Blues.”

While that song, also called “I Met My Baby There,” is no secret–you can find at least three versions on YouTube–it has been under-appreciated as a musical icon of the city until now.

“It may be the happiest slow blues song ever recorded,” said Roy Peter Clark, a writing teacher at the Poynter Institute, who has spent two years leading this effort. “He meets the girl of his dreams, right here in St. Pete, Florida.”

Actually, he met the girl while he was still a teenager, living and working in Tampa. But when it came time to write the song, it sounded better with the name “St. Pete.”

“Back then,” said Clark, “Tampa may have gotten the airport, the university and the football stadium, but we got the song.”

Although Ray Charles Robinson was born in Georgia and is associated with that state because of his classic rendition of “Georgia on My Mind,” he was raised in the little north Florida town of Greenville. His formative years were difficult. The family was poor. His older brother drowned. Ray lost his vision.

He attended the St. Augustine School for the Blind, where he developed his musical skills. In his teenage years, he lived and worked across the state with gigs in Jacksonville, Orlando and then Tampa. There he was known as R.C. Robinson.

Into the 1950s and 60s, Ray Charles became one of America’s most versatile performers, a singer, musician, composer, bandleader and arranger. Over time he became master of countless musical genres: gospel, jazz, rock, country, rhythm and blues, rockabilly, soul. His version of “America the Beautiful” has been applauded as our second National Anthem.

Over a half century, Ray Charles often returned to Florida with many visits to St. Pete, including performances at the Manhattan Casino, a venue for black performers in the days of segregation, but also at the Bayfront Center and at an outdoor concert at Campbell Park.

“For all these reasons,” reads the proclamation, “we declare Ray Charles as an Adopted Son of St. Petersburg Florida, and his song an official song of the city.”

Clark sees this, not as an end, but as a launch point of creativity for the city. “We are urging the celebration of Ray’s life and work in images, texts and music, on murals and statues, in museums, and in musical performances and festivals in his name and ours.”

Speakers and performers will include author John Capouya, Alex Harris and His Band, The Scheiber Family, J.J. Pattishall, Eric Deggans, Lillian Dunlap, Paul Wilborn, with a special guest appearance by soul artist Latimore.

Mark your calendars for St. Pete Celebrates the Florida Legacy of “The Genius” Ray Charles Friday, Feb. 15 @ 7 p.m. at The Studio@620, 620 First Ave. S. Tickets start at $10. For more information, please call 727-895-6620.

This article originally appeared in The Weekly Challenger.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Emerging Leader 2019 Fellow – Rafáel Robinson

Don't Miss

COMMENTARY: The Debt We Owe Haitians

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025

Published

15 hours ago

May 16, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

The Best Advice for Raising Children: Discipline That Makes Sense

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Published

3 days ago

May 13, 2025

Oakland Post

Headshot of Dr. William A. Thomas. Photo courtesy of Dr. William A. Thomas.

By William A. Thomas, Ph.D.

In many African societies, the primary aim of socialization is to raise children to be socially responsible and eventually provide economic support to their parents and extended families. Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye taught that children are raised to be respectful of the wishes of their parents and extended adult family members.

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Effective disciplinary strategies appropriate to a child’s age and development teach them to regulate their behavior; keep them from harm; enhance their cognitive, social, and emotional executive functioning skills; and reinforce the behavioral patterns taught by their parents and caregivers.

Below are some specific guidelines for disciplining children.

Listen to what children are talking about with interest and show them you understand their feelings. Remember, children mirror and learn about their emotional selves by hearing their feelings reflected back to them. Staying on target also means avoiding labels. When children fail to do what is expected, discussing it is helpful rather than saying how stubborn, lazy, dumb, or bad they are. By the same token, more positive labels can be helpful.

Dependability is another essential component of the discipline process. When parents are dependable, their children learn what to expect and are helped to feel secure. When parents are consistent, children learn to trust, that is, predict their parents’ behaviors with certainty. A child thinks, “When I spill something, I will always be asked to wipe it up.” A child thinks, “If I use foul language, I will always be corrected.” A child thinks, “If I take something that doesn’t belong to me, I will always have to give it back.” The ability to predict with certainty leads children to rely on their parents and the village/community in which they live. Children feel safe when they know what to expect.

Conclusions

It takes a village/community to raise the divine gift that is the Black child. Parents look to therapists for guidance concerning a variety of parenting issues, including discipline. Keep in mind that evidence suggests that corporal punishment is both ineffective in the long term and associated with cognitive and mental health disorders. When parents want guidance about the use of spanking, a child therapist can explore parental feelings, help them better define the goals of discipline, and offer specific behavior management strategies. In addition to providing appropriate education to families, the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists (Bay ABPsi) can refer them to community resources, like parenting groups and classes.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in the SF/Oakland Bay Area and Beaumont. He is a member of Bay ABPsi, a healing resource committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. Readers are welcome to join us at our monthly chapter meetings every 3^rd Saturday via Zoom and contact us at bayareaabpsi@gmail.com.