[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E185-E186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING TAMPA BAY'S LOCAL TRAILBLAZER, FRED HEARNS, IN HONOR OF 
                          BLACK HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 7, 2023

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true 
Tampa Bay historian who has served this community with great 
distinction for many decades. Mr. Charles ``Fred'' Hearns is one of the 
foremost historians of Tampa Bay and Florida history. And, since 2021, 
he has served as the first Curator of Black History for the Tampa Bay 
History Center (TBHC).
  Mr. Hearns was born in the Bronx, NY and grew up in East Tampa, 
Florida, graduating in 1966 from Middleton High School, the first high 
school for African Americans in Hillsborough County. He later went on 
to further his education at the University of South Florida earning a 
bachelor's degree in english/journalism and a master's degree in 
Africana studies. Mr. Hearns also holds a master's degree in human 
services from Springfield College (Distinguished Graduate Award). He is 
the father of four adult children, sons Charles F. (Ricky) Hearns Jr. 
and Marcel Charles Fred Hearns, and daughters Cassanda Franklin and 
Charaneka Johnson. He also has five grandchildren.
  He began his career as a journalist working for the Florida Sentinel 
Bulletin, St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune, Ft. Lauderdale Sun 
Sentinel and then in the Office of Public Contacts for Southern 
University in Baton Rouge, La. In 1975, Mr. Hearns began a 32-year 
career with the City of Tampa and became its human rights director in 
1992. He retired as director of the Department of Community Affairs in 
2007.
  During his tenure with the City of Tampa, Mr. Hearns worked on 
several major projects including leading the charge as president of the 
Middleton High School Alumni Association to reestablish his alma mater 
where a Pavilion now stands in his honor. He also worked as a 
consultant for the revitalization of the Perry Harvey, Sr. Park project 
and was a founding member of several civic organizations in the city 
such as the 78th Street Improvement Association, the Ada T. Payne 
Friends of the Urban Libraries and the Robert W. Saunders Library 
Foundation, Inc. Mr. Hearns also worked as a consultant for the ENCORE 
housing project in Tampa. He served on the Friends of the Riverwalk and 
on the Florida Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil 
Rights. In 2014. he was awarded the Robert Saunders Award for Community 
Service.

[[Page E186]]

  Mr. Hearns continues to lift the Tampa Bay community through his 
church, Allen Temple AME, and his fraternity, the Omega Psi Phi 
Fraternity, Inc. where he was initiated into the Pi Iota Chapter in 
1977. Mr. Hearns served in numerous roles for the fraternity including 
as chair of the Just Gents program, which mentors young African 
American male students from Ernest Everett Just Elementary School.
  Mr. Hearns has a deep love for this community and is constantly 
fighting to ensure everyone understands that Black History is 
everyone's history. Sparked by his mentorship with Robert Saunders and 
the publication of Mr. Saunders' book, Bridging the Gap, Mr. Hearns 
started to have a deep interest in local history. In 2005, he started 
his own tourism business, Fred Hearns Tours, LLC, which included both 
bus and walking tours of Tampa's African American history. The next 
year, he wrote an autobiographical book titled, Getting it Done: 
Rebuilding Black America Brick By Brick. Mr. Hearns is the president 
emeritus of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Association for the Study of 
African American Life and History (ASALH).
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful Tampa Bay community, during this 
Black History Month, we salute and honor Mr. Charles ``Fred'' Hearns 
for ensuring that history is written truthfully, fully and with a 
persistent shining a light on the struggles, contributions and success 
stories of our local unsung Black neighbors.

                          ____________________