Background. From 1967 to 1987, the City of Tampa experienced significant racial tension, beginning with riots that were sparked after the 1967 Police killing of unarmed Martin Chambers. Black residents experienced increased Police violence and brutality in the late 80s as four African American males were killed during encounters involving White Police officers during a period spanning from November 1986 to April 1987. In March 1987, tensions once again boiled over and manifested into riots immediately following the choking death of College Hill resident Melvin Hair at the hands of a White Police Officer. Melvin Hair, an emotionally-challenged College Hill resident, died of asphyxiation, having been choked to death by a police officer in front of his mother. As a result of Hair’s death, the city mayor banned the carotid artery chokehold.

Incident. 23-year-old Melvin Eugene Hair suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and on March 18th, 1987, became excessively agitated with family members as they hosted a game night at Melvin's and his mother’s residence.  Melvin was disruptive and began calling out card hands to his mother’s dismay. Melvin even attempted to burn someone with a cigarette.  A family fight erupted, and a guest called the Police for assistance to get Melvin to a mental health center. To increase the call’s urgency, the guest falsely claimed that Melvin was yielding a knife (all family members and guests corroborated that Melvin did not have a knife). The Police Officers who responded to the call got into a fight with an agitated Melvin while trying to restrain him. Eventually, one of the responding officers placed Hair into a carotid artery restraint that he had learned at the Police Academy. Melvin died of asphyxiation as a direct result of the carotid artery chokehold. Several attempts were made to revive Melvin, all to no avail.     

Protests & Riots. Community residents grew angry because of Hair's death, and a crowd started to gather and later became increasingly violent, setting fire to a dumpster and throwing rocks and bottles. The next evening, a group of about 200 residents participated in rioting, and approximately 75 police officers wearing riot gear cordoned off the area.  A police command center was established nearby, a local grocery store was looted along with homes occupied by White residents, and a McDonald's in the area was hit by rocks and burglarized. With increasing violence, the Ku Klux Klan got involved, increasing tensions on all sides. By March 21, 1987, the riots subsided as community organizers and clergy hosted community forums and town halls at Middleton High School to address the issues community residents faced.

Aftermath. After the death of Hair, the use of chokeholds by the police was banned.  Police Officer David D’Agresta was suspended without pay, and the State Attorney's Office for Hillsborough County charged him in connection with the event, but an all-White jury acquitted him. Both officers who were involved with the case were cleared of any wrongdoing on April 27, 1987, as the assistant prosecutor said Melvin’s death was a result of cardiac rhythm disturbance. A municipal government memo was published stating the Police Officer’s actions were not illegal, unconstitutional, nor racially motivated; but his actions did violate Tampa's policy, which limited using deadly force only to when a suspect posed "the threat of grave injury."

Legacy. 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.”

**A special thanks to Cedric Carrington of St. Peter Claver for capturing this important history