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Speaking her

Jackson stands in the main auditorium at

Rainbow PUSHs Chicago headquarters.

In 2010, Floridas former lieutenant gov-ernor Jennifer Carroll made history as the first Black and first woman elected to the position. But two years into her term, she resigned under a cloud of con-troversy. Undeterred, the retired naval officer talks to EBONYs Amy Elisa Keith about breaking out of the good old boys club and having the last word.

Jennifer Carroll is, at first, Calm and easygoing, which is somewhat surprising for a politician who has recent-ly published a very candid book, When You Get There, that could expose florida state politics for its notoriously racist flaws and aid in the ousting of incumbent gov. rick scott in the november 4 election. But what has she got to be afraid of? the retired decorated U.s. navy lieutenant commander was built for storms like this.

the whistle-blowing autobiography, which became an amazon best-seller the first week of release in august, has given Carroll, 55, an opportunity to share her version of events that led up to her march 2013 resignation, which she insists were all part of a plot spearheaded by one of the governors chiefs of staff, steve macnamara, who himself re-signed amid controversy. despite its tell-all nature, her book is actually much more. it reveals the triumph-over-tragedy

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EBONY: the book was released just months before the florida gubernatorial election on november 4. Was that a strategic move?CARROLL : i am able to shed some light on how this administration operates. Whether thats the deciding factor for people to vote or not vote in favor of the cur-rent administration is their decision. But at least now the public knows what goes on behind closed doors.

EBONY: you also talk about being adopted by your great-aunt and great-uncle, Jean and Carl. Why include that aspect of your story?CARROLL : growing up with parents who were not biologi-cally mine was a struggle. i had an identity problem and often wondered, Who do i belong to? Who do i look like? do i favor my father or my mother? Ultimately, i realized that i was in a much better place with loving parents who guided me in the right ways.

EBONY: later, you wrote that you joined the navy to gain freedom. But women were far from liberated in the armed forces during that time. What was your experience?CARROLL : When i joined in the late 70s, the field of aviation maintenance had just opened to women. the senior males did not want us in their navy; we heard that constantly. it was antagonistic at times, and they undermined our work. Being a womanand often the only Black womanin a male-dominated environment was very difficult. as i got higher in rank, i realized that i could speak up. But unfortunately, we still see sexual harassment in the mili-tary even today. i think some men struggle with seeing a woman advance to their level, then they feel threatened because youre in their space.

EBONY: after being elected in 2010, when did you discover that gov. scott and you were not seeing eye to eye?CARROLL : originally, the governor and i ran on a ticket of changing tallahassee and not having the good old boy sta-tus quo be at the decision-making table. But by the time his third chief of staff, steve macnamara, came in six months after we took office, thats exactly who we put at the table. the governor was convinced that i shouldnt be in certain meetings, so i was disinvited.

EBONY: you were appointed to chair the task force that reviewed the stand your ground law after the killing of trayvon martin. How did that come about?CARROLL : the task force took pressure off the governor. He didnt want to really address it. He appointed the special prosecutor, angela Corey, because he felt the rest would go away. But if the governor had had a relationship with leaders in the Black community, he could have picked up the phone to ask their thoughts on how to best handle the situation. He never did that. and many of the task force members, particularly the republican side, didnt have

EBONY: When You Get There has caused quite a stir in the republican Party. Why did you write it?CARROLL : i wanted the book to encourage people to build on inner strength and their faith to get them to that next level. i also wanted to clear up the false accusations levied upon me while i was in office because i didnt have the ability then to share my side of the story. in not doing so, i let the media define who i was. i am fighting back to stake my claim to the truth.

EBONY: Have you heard from gov. rick scott or steve mac-namara about these allegations?CARROLL : if they had empathy or any regret for what they did, they would reach out. What i found in politics is that instead of people having a bit of humility or asking for for-giveness, they tend to get more hardened.

EBONY: tell-all books can be taboo in politics. Why not sim-ply do a major television interview?CARROLL : fifteen minutes of an interview can get lost. the book is everlasting; its in print, and people can go back to it. Writing this book was my way of countering the press, to put the facts out.

relationships with anybody in our communities, so they couldnt relate to our issues.

EBONY: What did the task force find?CARROLL : the task force members travelled around the state to give everybody a voice. We consistently heard that the application of the law was different throughout the state and depended on the law enforcement department.

EBONY: you have two sons. Have they experienced racial profiling by the police?CARROLL : my older son was stopped several times for driving while Black. Hes a professional football player (a cornerback for the Philadelphia eagles), and once his car was pulled over by a Black cop. my younger son had an incident in which he was working, distributing flyers on cars in an upper-middle-class area. several officers surrounded him because a White woman had called the police to say that he was breaking into vehicles. Unfortu-nately for our men, these situations are real and happen on a regular basis. EBONY: Changing course a bit, is there any truth to the al-legations that ultimately forced you to resign from office? you were named in the 2013 racketeering investigation of allied Veterans of the World, a charity that operated a chain of internet sweepstakes cafes. CARROLL : any wrongful activity with allied Veterans never occurred. as a matter of fact, the florida depart-

story of an adopted girl from trinidads journey to becoming a celebrated political fireball.

today, Carroll is a political analyst for a local television station in Jacksonville, fla., and a senior adviser for global digital solutions, inc. in West Palm Beach.

the mBa-toting wife of nolan Carroll and mother of three, nolan ii, 27; nyckie, 25; and necho, 21, balances work and home with a sense of gratitude few seem to have in the cut-throat world of politics. although she could lock herself away in her fleming island, fla., home, cursing the party she has long supported for abandoning her, Carroll refuses to play the victim. she tells eBony about overcoming public dis-grace and the power plays she witnessed behind closed doors.

ment of law enforcements final report stated that i had no crimi-nal activity with allied Veterans, but that never made the press. i believe the whole scenario was set up as an opportunity to get me out of office without directly blaming the administration.

EBONY: also, a former employee claimed she caught you in a situa-tion with a female travel aide while in a compromising position. you then made your infamous remark about being too pretty to be les-bian. What happened?CARROLL : that situation never oc-curred. i think it was purposely created to be used as a narrative to get me to go out of office.

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EBONY: in the end, you said that gov. scott never came to your defense. How did that make you feel?CARROLL : Knowing what i did to get him elected, he didnt even have the common courtesy to allow both of us to talk to the press together. i was so hurt and pissed when i heard his press conference the next day. i could not believe the level of betrayal and the lack of appreciation for my loyalty.

EBONY: How did you endure all of this and still come out on the other end?CARROLL : i went through a stage of depression, a stage of withdrawal and a stage of anger. Had it not been for my firm belief in god, i would not be here talking to you today. my healing process was writing the book.

EBONY: When someone recognizes your contribution to his-tory as the first Black person and the first woman elected to be lieutenant governor of florida, how do you feel? CARROLL : it makes me feel good, but being first in anything is not the important part. it is what you do with it to help other people thats most important.

EBONY: during the 2012 presidential election, you were one of the political darlings of the republican party. are you nervous about being alienated?CARROLL : i love the opportunity that i have because i can give an assessment on both sides and have the freedom to speak candidly about republicans and democrats. i dont have any obligation to anybody.

The former lieutenant

governor of Florida remains

poised and professional

as she candidly discusses her time in office.

Running mates Jennifer Carroll and Rick Scott were all smiles at a 2010 campaign stop in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Op

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