[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 19, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E40-E41]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE LOSS OF C. BLYTHE ANDREWS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 19, 2010

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mr. C. 
Blythe Andrews Jr., the former editor-in-chief of the Florida Sentinel 
Bulletin, Florida's largest and oldest Black newspaper, and a beloved 
member of the Tampa Bay community. The state of Florida suffered a 
great loss on January 12, 2010 when he passed away.
  Mr. Andrews' devotion to the Florida Sentinel Bulletin was life long. 
His first job for the paper was during his years at Booker T. 
Washington Junior High School. He would spend afternoons after school 
folding newspapers for delivery. He continued to work for the paper, 
under the close eye of his father who was the editor-in-chief at the 
time, while attending Middleton High School in Tampa. After receiving 
his bachelor's degree in economics, his master's in journalism, and 
serving in our Nation's Army, he went on to continue the family legacy 
of newspaper publishing, becoming editor-in-chief of the Sentinel 
Bulletin

[[Page E41]]

in 1977. He held the position for nearly 20 years and went on to serve 
as the publisher and owner. Through the newspaper, he opened the doors 
of opportunity for many African American youth in the community who 
found the Florida Sentinel Bulletin to be the first step into the 
business world. The newspaper has served as a voice for the African 
American community of West-Central Florida for decades, providing news 
twice-weekly and offering an outlet for African American writers and 
columnists. This family legacy continues through his children, C. 
Blythe Andrews III and Sybil Kay Andrews Wells.
  Mr. Andrews was a voice for the working class as well as his fellow 
African Americans. He was a member of the board of trustees for Tampa 
General Hospital, and directed the Lily White Security Benefit 
Association that offered burial insurance benefits that other companies 
did not. Mr. Andrews was appointed to many positions of honor and 
distinction in community organizations including: Tampa Bay Regional 
Planning Council, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center Trustee, the Greater 
Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the Tampa Employment and Training Council, 
the Foundation Board of the University of South Florida, the Arts 
Council of the State of Florida, and Chairman of the Board of the 
Hillsborough County Hospital Association. Additionally, he was the 
first African American appointed to the Tampa Sports Authority, later 
serving as vice chairman, and advocated for the renaming of Tampa's 
Buffalo Avenue after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  Mr. Andrews was merited as one of the Twenty-Five Most Influential 
People of Tampa Bay by Tampa Bay Life Magazine--an honor that is 
befitting a man who uplifted the people of Tampa Bay while educating 
and informing the community of the news that applied to their lives 
when no one else thought it was necessary to do so. He leaves a legacy 
of leadership as a pioneer for the African American community.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. C. Blythe Andrews Jr. will be greatly missed by 
the state of Florida and especially by the Tampa Bay area. My thoughts 
and condolences are with his wife, Gloria, and the rest of his family 
in this time of loss.

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