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Even after the Rosa Parks bus boycott movement, segregation still existed. This article shows how more of the same has existed, and how it has been implemented within Tallahassee by way of theaters and the "whites only" section that existed that caused Patricia Stephens Due to be arrested. A suit was also filed as at the time, Tallahassee supported racial apartheid.

On Jan. 23, 1963, Patricia Stephens Due was arrested in the segregated lobby of the Florida Theater in Tallahassee for entering the whites-only section.

Although the city dropped the case, Stephens Due filed a suit against the city for their support of racial apartheid. While an agreement was made that Due would drop the suit if the city desegregated their court room, the city went back on their promise, sparking a new wave of student protests of the two movie theaters.

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On Jan. 23, 1963, Patricia Stephens Due was arrested in the segregated lobby of the Florida Theater in Tallahassee for entering the whites-only section.

Although the city dropped the case, Stephens Due filed a suit against the city for their support of racial apartheid. While an agreement was made that Due would drop the suit if the city desegregated their court room, the city went back on their promise, sparking a new wave of student protests of the two movie theaters.

Over 200 students were arrested and 37 teargassed in their efforts to desegregate the theaters. Stephens Due's eyes were damaged by tear gas used by police during one of those protests. As a result, she head to wear dark glasses for the rest of her life.

The city later changed its legal tactics, allowing students to peacefully protest in front of the theaters without police interference.

A few years earlier (Feb. 20, 1960) in Tallahassee, Stephens Due was fined and arrested at a Woolworth's lunch counter that denied African Americans the right to be seated. Due refused to pay a fine and instead, chose to stay in jail - a "Jail, No Bail" tactic.

To learn more about Due, read the book she wrote with her daughter, Tananarive Due, Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights.

Parts of this description were excerpted from Ideal Citizens: The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.

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Jan. 23, 1963: Patricia Stephens Due Arrested in Florida

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Patricia Stephens Due is arrested by the police in the segregated lobby of the Florida Theater in Tallahassee.

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Deep Dive: Tallahassee Grocers of the 1860s

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Deep Dive: Tallahassee Grocers of the 1860s

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I would like to explore the different pieces of black history that have taken place in the city of Tallahassee that have not been discussed on a bigger scale. I came across these events by way of a website that teaches about history and movements that have taken place locally. This was interesting to me because I've always wanted to learn about the history of Tallahassee and the role it has played in black history and social movements.

On April 5, 1866, a man named Robert Williams wrote this letter to the Florida Freedmen’s Bureau assistant commissioner on behalf of himself and six other Black grocers in Tallahassee. They called for an end to high taxes levied against them to support former Confederates. Bureau records do not contain a response from the assistant commissioner.

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On April 5, 1866, a man named Robert Williams wrote this letter to the Florida Freedmen's Bureau assistant commissioner on behalf of himself and six other Black grocers in Tallahassee. They called for an end to high taxes levied against them to support former Confederates. Bureau records do not contain a response from the assistant commissioner.

Dear Sir,

We the undersigned, colored grocers of this city, take this method to Present themselves to you. We Protest against the crushing Taxes that are charged by the civil authorities as unbearable, under the circumstances.

If we do not keep such astablishments to Protect our People against Paying the Rebels such a high Price for what they need what will they have at the end of the year to begin with.

we hope you will give to the Subject your most favourable View

we Remane dear sir your most Obt Servts

Respectfully,

Robert Williams
Samuel Wells
Crofford Watkins
Boson Roberson
George Laramore
Lucian Fisher
Austin Whiticer

This story is included on the Florida assessment page of the Zinn Education Project's report, Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle: How State Standards Fail to Teach the Truth About Reconstruction.

Learn about the Reconstruction era in Florida in Emancipation Betrayed: The Hidden History of Black Organizing and White Violence in Florida from Reconstruction to the Bloody Election of 1920 by Paul Ortiz.

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April 5, 1866: Black Grocers Protest Taxes Supporting Confederates

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Robert Williams and other Black grocers wrote a letter to the Florida Freedmen's Bureau calling for an end to high taxes levied against them to support former Confederates.

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Deep Dive: Emancipation Day - May 20, 1865

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Deep Dive: Emancipation Day - May 20, 1865

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Emancipation Day is considered May 20, 1865, due to it first being proclaimed in Tallahassee. Tallahassee was the first place that it was proclaimed in Florida. I would like to use this piece to add on to the overarching history that Tallahassee carries.

Emancipation was proclaimed in Tallahassee on May 20, 1865, 11 days after the end of the Civil War, and two years after the Proclamation first issued by President Abraham Lincoln freed those enslaved in Southern states.

For this reason, Emancipation Day is traditionally celebrated on May 20 in Florida.

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Deep Dive: James R. Ford - Tallahassee's First Black Mayor

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Deep Dive: James R. Ford - Tallahassee's First Black Mayor

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James R. Ford was Tallahassee's First Black mayor in 1972. This event was a milestone in black history, as he became the first black mayor of a state capitol city. He played a key role in establishing the Minority Business Department, Affirmative Action and became Tallahassee's first black manager at a radio station.

In 1972, Ford became Tallahassee's first black mayor, the first black mayor of a state capitol city. He served subsequent terms as mayor in 1976 and 1982. In addition, he served fourteen consecutive years as a Tallahassee City Commissioner. In this office, he played a key role in establishing the Minority Business Department, the Frenchtown Area Development Authority and the Affirmative Action Office and worked to eliminate segregated practices in the city government and to secure employment for blacks.

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Deep Dive: C.K. Steele - Leader of Tallahassee's Bus Boycott

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Deep Dive: C.K. Steele - Leader of Tallahassee's Bus Boycott

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One of the first things that I discussed in my Deep Dive was the Tallahassee Bus Boycott of 1956. C.K. Steele is a prominent figure because he was a leader of this movement and a civil rights activist in the city. He was also a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was led by Martin Luther King Jr. A historical landmark in Tallahassee is also named after him, called the CK Steele Memorial Highway, which was finalized in 2019. Steele died in 1980.

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This week, I wanted to discuss different monuments in Tallahassee. Starting with the Soul Voices of Frenchtown, is a historical piece of Tallahassee's Frenchtown area. Frenchtown's history began in the Reconstruction Era as land set aside post civil war exclusively for freed slaves.

During Reconstruction and through the Jim Crow era, Frenchtown was a hub for black owned businesses of all kinds to innovate and inspire. As the Commerce and Community marker highlights, many of these businesses were led by women as well as men, and venues such as the Capital Theater and the Red Bird Cafe were the only entertainment spots in town that were not segregated. Black musicians from across the country travelled to the Red Bird to play– including Louis Armstrong, James Brown, Ray Charles and more. While in town, many notable guests stayed at the Tookes House & Villa Motel on Virginia Street, one of the only places to accommodate African Americans in the region.

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Located in the heart of Tallahassee is a community with history and culture stretching back over a hundred years. The Frenchtown neighborhood is a living and breathing monument to the contributions of the African American community in Tallahassee. The story of Frenchtown continues to be told, and the voices of its residents bring that story to life. In 2019, the John G. Riley Center & Museum launched the Frenchtown Historic Marker Trail- a series of plaques documenting the families, businesses, and innovators that shaped their community and the city. Select plaques are also accompanied with audio interviews from residents telling the stories of the community passed down through generations. Their voices tell the history that is often forgotten, that is now put on display to be shared by all.

The history of Frenchtown is expansive- taking root in the Reconstruction era as land set aside post-Civil War exclusively for recently freed slaves. This landmark moment in United States history set the course for Frenchtown to grow into the community we know today.

A Rich History

Anthon "Ann" Roberts provides the welcome message at the first marker at the start of the trail on Macomb Street located just across from Florida State's campus. Through her voice and many others, the streets and buildings that line them take new meaning. During Reconstruction and through the Jim Crow era, Frenchtown was a hub for black owned businesses of all kinds to innovate and inspire. As the Commerce and Community marker highlights, many of these businesses were led by women as well as men, and venues such as the Capital Theater and the Red Bird Cafe were the only entertainment spots in town that were not segregated. Black musicians from across the country travelled to the Red Bird to play- including Louis Armstrong, James Brown, Ray Charles and more. While in town, many notable guests stayed at the Tookes House & Villa Motel on Virginia Street, one of the only places to accommodate African Americans in the region.

More than entertainment, Frenchtown was host to trailblazers. Maxwell Courtney- the first African American student to graduate from Florida State University- grew up in Frenchtown. The first black police officer and the first black city bus driver also lived in in the neighborhood- a testament to the community's important role in Tallahassee history. Those born and raised in Frenchtown were more than just leaders, they were an integral part of a community tapestry.

On one of the markers, longtime resident Dorothy Tookes McCoy recounts block-by-block, the generations of families she grew up with. These families typically ate at the same restaurants and went to the same historic Old Lincoln High School. Through her voice, it is clear that Frenchtown is a vibrant familial network brought to life through the audio messages and plaques.

Each plaque shows a unique aspect of life in Frenchtown, ranging from education, to business, to everyday happenings. Newly added markers provide a glimpse into the world of pageants, dances, and social events that made Frenchtown a cultural hub for the black community in Tallahassee. These events often took place in fraternal lodges and churches. While many of the buildings and structures no longer exist, some such as the Tookes House and Old Lincoln High School still stand. These landmarks and the Historical Markers Trail are must see historical sites for visitors to understand the rich black history found in Tallahassee.

Follow the Soul Voices Trail

Plan your next visit by following the Soul Voices Trail Map provided by the John G. Riley Center & Museum. The Frenchtown Historic Markers continue to grow as more of the community's history is told. In November 2020, four additional markers were added to highlight the festivals, commerce, and impact of the historic Old Lincoln High School in Greater Frenchtown. These additional markers shed new light on the cultural and educational significance of the community. The trail offers the unique opportunity to not only read history, but hear it come to life through the soul voices of Frenchtown.

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Soul Voices of Frenchtown * Visit Tallahassee

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Located in the heart of Tallahassee is a community with history and culture stretching back over a hundred years. The Frenchtown neighborhood is a living and breathing monument to the contributions of the African American community in Tallahassee. The story of Frenchtown continues to be told, and the voices of its residents bring that story to life.

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To bring everything full circle in my deep diving, I decided to add the Knott House Museum. This is where the Emancipation Proclamation was read on the front steps in 1965. While it is currently closed, it is a huge staple in black history and was built by a freed black American carpenter named George Proctor.

The house currently known as the Knott House was constructed in 1843, probably by George Proctor, a free Black builder. Attorney Thomas Hagner and his bride Catherine Gamble became the home's first residents the following year.

Immediately after the Civil War ended, Union Brigadier General Edward M. McCook used the house as his temporary headquarters when he occupied Tallahassee. On May 20, 1865, McCook declared the Emancipation Proclamation to be in effect, thereby announcing freedom for all enslaved persons in the greater Tallahassee region.

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The Knott House Museum is currently closed while we work to preserve the historic interior, improve the visitor experience, and create new exhibits to engage the public. If you have comments or questions, please email [email protected].
The Knott House offers visitors a look at Tallahassee life in the 1930s. Decorated in Victorian splendor, the 1840s home features original furnishings used by the Knott family during their 1928 to 1941 period of residence in the home.

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The Knott House Museum is currently closed while we work to preserve the historic interior, improve the visitor experience, and create new exhibits to engage the public. If you have comments or questions, please email [email protected]. The Knott House offers visitors a look at Tallahassee life in the 1930s.

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Much like this deep dive, there have been places and facts that I have stumbled on. But for Gloria Jefferson Anderson, she stumbled upon the resting place of her ancestors. Archaeologists are saying that there may be 40 graves in the area.

After trained dogs found unmarked graves, 72-year-old Gloria Jefferson Anderson went home and looked into the eyes of a photograph of her dad. Then she began to cry.

Her dad once had told her that their ancestors were buried at the now-forgotten New Hope Cemetery, but he passed away when she was a teen. Her mom had died earlier.

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After trained dogs found unmarked graves, 72-year-old Gloria Jefferson Anderson went home and looked into the eyes of a photograph of her dad. Then she began to cry.

Her dad once had told her that their ancestors were buried at the now-forgotten New Hope Cemetery, but he passed away when she was a teen. Her mom had died earlier.

For more than 50 years, no one has been able to tell her just where New Hope Cemetery was located. (It's not to be confused with the "New Hope Church Cemetery," also in Leon County.)

What she knew was that her great-grandmother was a Creek Indian named Suwannee Cruel, married to Abram. Together they had 16 children, one named Maryanne, Anderson's grandmother.

She thinks they're buried under a section of what is now the Miccosukee Greenway.

The possible find comes at a time when there's interest in locating and memorializing abandoned cemeteries where former slaves and sharecroppers now lay. A 1998 Task Force on Abandoned and Neglected Cemeteries funded by the Legislature suggested there were at least 1,750 in the state.

That report came long before last December's announcement that archaeologists, using ground-penetrating radar, think they located 40 graves under the golf course at the Capital City Country Club, site of the former Houston Plantation.

Last August, the Tampa Housing Authority said it may have located the city's first African-American cemetery under an apartment complex. Zion Cemetery was established in 1901 but disappeared from city maps in 1929.

Archeologists used ground-penetrating radar and discovered what they believe to be 126 caskets beneath Housing Authority land.

And this past spring, lawmakers advanced a bill to establish a new task force to identify and memorialize the sites, the "covered-up graves that have been built upon, or destroyed, or obliterated from history," said state Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, one of the bill's co-sponsor. The bill cleared the Senate but the House did not take it up.

Documenting a lost past

The affairs of slaves and sharecroppers were considered unimportant by historians. Events like their births and deaths went unrecorded and their contributions unrecognized.

When the findings of the country club graves were announced, Jonathan Lammers, the historian whose research convinced the club to allow further investigation of the site, said there are probably thousands of unmarked graves of slaves in the area, given the number of plantations in Leon County.

Guided by oral histories, Anderson searched through census, plantation and court records for some mention of her relatives. She traced her ancestors' journey from the slave markets of North Carolina, to a Jefferson County plantation, to a Leon County plantation along Centerville Road.

And she found after Emancipation, Abram signed a sharecropper's contract for a plot of land that eventually became part of the Welaunee hunting plantation. And he and his family joined the St. Peter Church.

Some members of that congregation in the late 19th century were buried at a New Hope Cemetery, Anderson said. New Hope is behind a small white church on Miccosukee Road that borders the Miccosukee Greenway, two miles east of Fleischmann Road.
From 2016: Miccosukee keeping Leon green
When her research led to the Testerina Primitive Baptist Church, she recruited an older brother in the quest.

In Orange County, his job was to survey for placement of water and sewer lines. He came to Leon County and inspected a wooded area atop a hill, along the greenway trail. He saw depressions that he said would require a developer to notify local archeological and cultural officials before they dug.

Then a friend's two cadaver dogs, independent of each other, signaled that there was something in the ground.

The dogs, Shiraz and Fletch, explored the width of the greenway Jan. 30 and about 125 feet on both sides in a loose grid pattern. Trainer Suzie Goodhope has assisted law enforcement in forensic work and the U.S. Park Service in efforts to identify historic sites and volunteered their time for the investigation.

The dogs gave two "responses" on the trail west of the church and six where the footpath turns south.

"I cried because I found his people, and that's my family," Anderson said. "Now that I know where they are, this won't be completed until we get the county and state to verify it."
More: Public input still can - and must - shape the future of Welaunee | Rick Minor
Anderson said the New Hope Cemetery extends west from the church onto the county's greenway and possibly into city property marked for the Welaunee development.

Progress may conflict with hidden history
More: Construction continues in Canopy at Welaunee development
The site is just two miles up the trail from the Hickory Hill sharecropper cemetery near Dempsey Mayo Road. It may foreshadow the discovery of other forgotten slave cemeteries as the city of Tallahassee's boundaries edge northward into the county's former cotton belt.

The Welaunee development, which may become the city's biggest subdivision and an eventual home to 50,000 people, is on land where once were four antebellum plantations. Two of the plantations were owned by the county's biggest slaveholders.

"When black people were on the plantation and they died, they were buried right there on the plantation," Anderson said about the rolling red-clay hills of northeast Leon County.

According to an 1860s county agriculture survey, some 620 enslaved workers were on the four plantations bordered by today's Fleischmann, Centerville and Miccosukee roads, north to the state line with Georgia. J.J. Williams' La Grange Plantation held 232 enslaved people, while another 180 worked the James Kirksey Plantation.

Workers on the four plantations produced 1,989 bales of cotton (worth $145 a bale in today's dollars) and at least 17,500 bushels of corn ($8 a bushel) the year before the Civil War broke out.

Anderson's family story is that her ancestors were sold in North Carolina to a Jefferson County plantation in 1828. When Emancipation came, her great-grandparents were working the House Place Plantation, owned by R.A. Whitfield and along Centerfield Road.

Other than that, all Anderson knew was that her great-grandparents and their children lived in the St. Peter community along Pablo Avenue, off Olson Road near the Fleischmann and Centerville intersection. They too were buried at New Hope.

In the 1870 census records, she found a Suwannee and Abram and 16 children. One was named Maryanne.

Then, about this time last year, she found an 1869 sharecropper contract between Cruel and Whitfield in a file of the Florida Plantation Records.

Connecting the historical dots

"You have to know how to connect the dots," said Lonnie Mann, a retired state employee and armchair historian who is helping Anderson research her family's history. "Not much was written down because African-Americans were not allowed to read and write.

"But these contracts list a few place names, and New Hope is written in there, and the oldest record we found places it in the area between Miccosukee and Centerville."

Many former slaves clustered in small enclaves, like Frenchtown. These enclaves had evolved from "brush arbors," campsites where people worshiped away from their overseers.

Many of the brush arbors had aspirational names, like "New Hope." According to the U.S. Geographical Census, there are at least 60 such places in Florida, including one along the Florida-Georgia border.

That complicated Anderson and Mann's search for her ancestors' resting place.

"What a morass that I just wallowed in, let me tell you," Mann said. "There were all sort of blind alleys I went down. But it's a theological concept, like the Second Coming. There are more than 600 New Hope churches and cemeteries in the U.S."

Attending services at St. Peter Church last fall, Anderson struck up a conversation with a church elder, a man in his mid-90s. He told her he remembered congregants talking about New Hope when he was a child. He told her he believed it was near Testerina.

The site inspection, cadaver dogs, government documents and oral history gives her confidence she has located the lost cemetery.

Lost bodies, remembered souls

Anderson thinks up to 12 Tallahassee families have relatives buried there. In addition to the Cruels, she suspects there are also members of the Austin, James, Dennis and Porter families. And she's trying to identify others.

Mann is preparing to register the site with the Secretary of State's Division of Historical Resources Master Site file. The submission will document the area as a cultural and historic resource. State verification will provide access to more research tools to further examine the findings.

"Leon County has been supportive of the citizen-led effort to survey the New Hope location and learn more about the area's history," county spokesman Matheiu Cavell said. "We also know that local history has deep roots for generations of nearby residents, so we hope future research keeps everyone engaged."

Anderson fears the race is on to get the site verified, marked and protected from development. Its western edge could possibly extend close to the proposed route for the Welaunee Boulevard extension, being built partly with Blueprint 2000 tax dollars.
More: Anderson asks anyone who thinks they have family members at New Hope Cemetery to contact her at gjjanderson@comcast.net. James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee Never miss a story: Subscribe to the Tallahassee Democrat. The big reveal: Tallahassee developments to watch in 2020
She wants the state to commission a ground-penetrating radar survey of the area: "It's abandoned and forgotten. Nobody thought about it until I started to inquire where are my people buried."

A spokeswoman for Blueprint said it doesn't appear that the Welaunee extension will affect the area Anderson has identified.

Blueprint is developing an archaeological and cultural resource survey to identify any cemeteries or other historically significant parcels in the route's path. That survey should be completed in September.

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Woman says she's found family's final resting place under a Miccosukee Greenway trail

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When racial segregation took place, this was the place where black people were lodging. Another staple in the city, specifically the Frenchtown area, I feel that this would be another piece of history that could be unpacked given its history and what it used to be. People can learn about the places black people ventured to during those times.

Ron McCoy is working to make sure the legacy of his family and neighborhood are not forgotten.

The lifelong Tallahassee resident is leading the restoration and reopening of the Tookes Hotel, his late grandparents’ Frenchtown hotel which provided lodging for Black travelers when racial segregation was the order of the day.

Slated to open in summer 2024, the historic building’s 11 bedrooms and three bathrooms will be rentable as Airbnbs, while the front of the building will be a small museum.

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Ron McCoy is working to make sure the legacy of his family and neighborhood are not forgotten.

The lifelong Tallahassee resident is leading the restoration and reopening of the Tookes Hotel, his late grandparents' Frenchtown hotel which provided lodging for Black travelers when racial segregation was the order of the day.

Slated to open in summer 2024, the historic building's 11 bedrooms and three bathrooms will be rentable as Airbnbs, while the front of the building will be a small museum.

"Keep your eye on us for a part of history that's going to come alive," said McCoy, an entrepreneur and former Florida State University administrator. "We anticipate high demand to actually stay here and experience [the hotel] firsthand."

McCoy initially attempted the restoration in 2015 but ran into a financial roadblock. In a fundraiser event for the project, he says that under $5,000 was raised, which was only enough to cover some gardening work and photography of the property.

The project was revived last summer when McCoy was approved for a $500,000 federal infrastructure repair grant to fund the extensive renovations. Last week, a large plastic sign announcing the renovations went up.

"It is important to preserve African-American history because it's been lost," said McCoy. "We have a treasure right here in the heart of Frenchtown that can be preserved and shared with future residents and the community of Tallahassee."

McCoy says that renovations will begin in about one to two months. An architect has already been selected for the project and he says the general contractor will be chosen in the next few days. The roof will be the first part of the house to be renovated.

The history of the Tookes Hotel

In 1948, Dorothy Nash Tookes, McCoy's grandmother, sought to open a lodge for Black travelers who were turned away from Tallahassee's white-only hotels. Dorothy and her husband, James, turned their own home into a bed and breakfast. She added three rooms onto the back of her Frenchtown residence and officially opened the Tookes Hotel.

The lodge soon became a bustling community hub and would go on to house Black luminaries such as Ray Charles, James Baldwin and Lou Rawls. Even after segregation ended, Tookes Hotel was so popular that six more rooms were added during the following decades.

The building stopped boarding travelers in the early '80s, and Dorothy Tookes passed away at 84 in 1988. The home was converted into a halfway house and operated until the very early 2000s. In 2001, the house was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

"If you look around Frenchtown, it's totally changed; you've got student housing just down the street. I'm 65 and I can remember when Frenchtown was a bustling African-American community," said McCoy.

"Frenchtown's businesses were owned by the people in the community... You had gas stations, drug stores, five and dime stores, movie theaters, juke joints - everything."

A stand-out property and pride point for the neighborhood

Dedra Mitchell is a real estate broker and prominent Airbnb host in Tallahassee. She is also the leader of Tallahassee Airbnb Hosts, a 516-member Facebook group that provides mentorship for local Airbnb hosts and helps them manage their rentals.

Mitchell says while owners often renovate historic homes and turn them into Airbnbs, this property could stand out to tourists.

"There are not many historic Black preserved homes," said Mitchell. "Airbnb, as a corporation, had an issue with Airbnbing while Black. If somebody has an opportunity to advertise [their rental] as friendly to other minorities, it's going to be a good for our community."

Alexis McMillan has lived in Tallahassee all of her life and says she has known McCoy and his family "forever" - they are even neighbors. She is the pharmacist and manager at Economy Drug Store: a historic Frenchtown business that her family has owned and operated since 1951. The store is at 319 N. Macomb St., right down the block from the Tookes Hotel.

"I'm excited about [the restoration]. Very, very happy," said McMillan. "The restoration of that historic building is one of the things that helped us to see about the restoration and historic preservation of the Economy Drug Store."

McMillan says the process to have her own family's historic building renovated with dollars from government grants has been "slow," but they have been given an authorization to be preserved from the State of Florida.

Besides two adjacent barber shops, other storefronts in the same strip as Economy Drug Store are vacant and are deteriorating from old age. Down the street, there are three student housing complexes and two more that are being built.

"The restoration of the whole neighborhood is definitely a top priority," said McMillan. "I look forward to the value of the neighborhood being here so it's not just brushed away and gone; I don't want that at all."
Contact Reporter Benjamin Taubman at btaubman@gannett.com.

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Historic Frenchtown 'Tookes Hotel' to be restored and reopened as Airbnb

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Frenchtown's historic Tookes Hotel is slated to be restored and reopened as an Airbnb in summer 2024.

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An interesting piece that is currently being put in place is this historical marker by the Equal Justice Initiative, showing where in Tallahassee between the years 1897 and 1937. There have been at least four that have taken place. The goal is to recognize that these lynchings have taken place.

On July 17, the Tallahassee Community Remembrance Project gathered with EJI and community members in Cascades Park, under the oak tree at the corner of East Gaines and South Meridian Streets, to dedicate a historical marker in remembrance of Ernest Ponder, Richard Hawkins, Mick Morris, and Pierce Taylor, Black victims of racial terror violence in Leon County, Florida. The marker was placed near the site of the jail from which the four men were abducted. The historic jail was demolished recently and replaced with a new hotel.

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On July 17, the Tallahassee Community Remembrance Project gathered with EJI and community members in Cascades Park, under the oak tree at the corner of East Gaines and South Meridian Streets, to dedicate a historical marker in remembrance of Ernest Ponder, Richard Hawkins, Mick Morris, and Pierce Taylor, Black victims of racial terror violence in Leon County, Florida. The marker was placed near the site of the jail from which the four men were abducted. The historic jail was demolished recently and replaced with a new hotel.

Although weather forced the ceremony indoors, hundreds of people were still able to participate in the program. Byron Greene, one of the coalition co-conveners, opened the ceremony with a welcome followed by a prayer from the Rev. Abigail Moon.

Takeisha Stokes performed a moving rendition of "Strange Fruit." After her performance, the coalition invited remarks from elected officials, including City of Tallahassee Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox; Chair of the Leon County Board of Commissioners Rick Minor, Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil; and Vice-Chair of the Leon County School Board Darryl Jones.

Recognizing the importance of engaging youth in these efforts as well, the coalition invited third-grade student Carter Nixon to give a piano performance during the ceremony. As he played "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the audience sang along. EJI Deputy Director of Community Education Kiara Boone and Project Manager Trey Walk then offered remarks on behalf of EJI.

Fortunately, ​​the weather cleared and the ceremony was moved outside for the unveiling of the historical marker. To transition to this part of the ceremony, Dr. Dan Leshem offered remarks that detailed how Jewish communities have Holocaust remembrance traditions that we can learn from when remembering the history of racial violence in the U.S.

A coalition member led attendees in singing "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The Rev. Julius McAllister Jr. from Bethel AME Church offered remarks and a prayer.

Following the unveiling of the marker, participants were invited to attend an interfaith prayer service at the nearby amphitheatre.

Lynching in Leon County

In Tallahassee, Florida, between 1897 and 1937, racial terror lynchings of African Americans by white mobs created a legacy of violence, intimidation, and injustice that has not been fully acknowledged. At least four racial terror lynchings took place in Leon County, traumatizing the entire Black community.

These lawless acts of violence were carried out after African Americans were accused of misconduct or crimes, often without evidence, denying them the right to an impartial investigation and fair trial. Instead, white mobs frequently pulled lynching victims from jails, often facing little to no resistance from law enforcement officers who were legally required to protect the Black people in their custody.

In 1897, a white mob abducted Pierce Taylor from the county jail and hanged him from an oak tree in the jail yard before repeatedly shooting his lifeless body. In 1909, after Mick Morris was condemned to die in an unreliable trial that lasted less than a day, a white mob dragged him from the jail and lynched him.

More than two decades later, in 1937, a white mob kidnapped two Black teenagers, Richard Hawkins and Ernest Ponder, from the jail. The mob shot and killed the young men before dumping their bodies into a grove of oak trees along the Jacksonville highway. A note found next to their bodies read: "This is the beginning, who is next."

No one was held accountable for committing these acts of racial terror.

Tallahassee Community Remembrance Project

In 2017, after learning about community efforts to memorialize racial terror lynchings in Nashville, Tennessee, community members in Tallahassee were inspired to begin organizing to support a similar effort in their community.

St. John's, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, and First Presbyterian Church began the organizing. Under the leadership of Byron Greene, Sandra Howard, and Blan Teagle, the group hosted informational meetings to inform others about the project and to invite them to join the effort. Today, the coalition has over 40 community partners.

On February 29, 2020, the Tallahassee Community Remembrance Project hosted a community soil collection in remembrance of Pierce Taylor, Mick Morris, Richard Hawkins, and Ernest Ponder at the site where the historical marker now stands.

The coalition is working to develop curriculum and continue programming to help raise local community consciousness about this history and its legacies.

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Historical Marker Dedicated in Tallahassee, Florida

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The marker memorializes four victims of racial terror violence in Leon County, Florida.

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It would not feel right to do a deep dive into the history of Tallahassee without discussing one of the greatest HBCU's to exist. Florida A&M University was founded on Oct. 3, 1887, originally being called Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College, until 1953. Today, FAMU is considered the top public HBCU in America.

In 1884, Thomas Van Renssaler Gibbs, a Duval County educator, was elected to the Florida legislature. Although his political career ended abruptly because of the resurgence of segregation, Representative Gibbs was successful in orchestrating the passage of House Bill 133 in 1884. This bill established a white normal school in Gainesville and a school for African Americans in Jacksonville. The bill passed, creating both institutions; however, the state decided to relocate the school for African Americans to Tallahassee.

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The Whole Story

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) , founded on October 3, 1887, as the State Normal College for Colored Students, began classes with 15 students and two instructors. FAMU's destiny--to become an institution of higher learning, striving toward even greater heights of academic excellence. Today, Florida A&M University is one of 12 institutions in Florida's State University System, and "Excellence with Caring" remains its goal.

Under the administration of John Robert Edward Lee, Sr., Florida A&M College acquired much of the physical and academic image it has today. Buildings were constructed; more land was purchased; additional faculty was hired; courses were upgraded; and accreditation was received from several state agencies. By 1944, Florida A&M College had constructed 48 buildings, accumulated 396 acres of land, and had 812 students and 122 staff members. In 1949, under the guidance of William H. Gray, Jr., expansion, along with reorganization, continued; the college obtained an Army ROTC unit, and student enrollment had grown to more than 2,000.

Perhaps the greatest achievement under the presidency of Dr. George W. Gore, Jr. [1950-1968], was the elevation of the school to university status. In 1953, the college's name and status were changed by legislative action from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). Obtaining university status meant restructuring existing programs and designing new academic offerings to meet the demands of producing quality students at the professional and graduate levels. Between 1953 and 1968, the Schools of Pharmacy, Law, Graduate Studies, and Nursing were also created.

During the years 1950-68, the University experienced its most rapid growth. Twenty-three buildings were erected, with construction and renovation costs totaling more than $14 million. These facilities included: the Dairy Barn, Faculty Duplexes, Law Wing of Coleman Library; Gibbs, Tucker, and Truth Halls; Agriculture and Home Economics Building (Perry Paige), Student Union Building, Demonstration School Building and Cafeteria; Health and Physical Education Building, Music and Fine Arts Complex, High School Gymnasium and Stadium. The hospital was completed and operative. The university's staff was increased by more than 500. At this time, the four-quarter plan was implemented, and the school became the first black institution to become a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Enrollment increased to more than 3,500.

Dr. Humphries' unique administrative initiatives heightened the appeal for FAMU to high school students, parents, and other members of the public. Some of the achievements made during President Humphries' administration include the following: FAMU received national recognition for record-breaking enrollment. In 1985, enrollment was 5,100. By 1992, total enrollment had nearly doubled to 9,551. The enrollment for the 1998/99 academic year reached approximately 12,000.

In addition to increased enrollment, the University consistently ranked nationally among the top five colleges and universities for enrolling National Achievement finalists. Due to an aggressive and competitive campaign to attract more talented students, FAMU climbed steadily from fourth place in 1989 to first place (1992, 1995, and 1997), and second place (1993 and 1994), surpassing institutions such as Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. Black Issues in Higher Education also cited FAMU, in 1999, for awarding more baccalaureates to African Americans than any institution in the nation.

Most significantly, during the celebration of its 110th Anniversary, TIME Magazine-Princeton Review selected Florida A&M University as the 1997-98 College of the Year. FAMU was selected as the winner from among six finalists including: DePaul University, Chicago; DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana; the University of Iowa, Iowa, City, Iowa; University of California, Los Angeles; Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut; and the University of California State System. FAMU was the first institution in the country to receive this honor from this magazine.

FAMU successfully completed requirements for establishing eight Eminent Scholars Chairs through the State Major Gifts Program: the Warner-Lambert Chair in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; the Garth Reeves and the Knight Foundation Chairs in the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication; the Anheuser-Busch, Centennial and Financial Services Chairs in the School of Business and Industry; the Carrie Meek Chair in the College of Education and the Foster Edmonds Chair in the College of Arts and Sciences.

At the 1989 Spring Commencement exercises, the University awarded its first Ph.D. degree to Hyacinth Chi Akunne in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The University presented its second doctor of philosophy degree to Fred Foreman (FAMU-FSU College of Engineering) during the 1995 Spring Commencement Exercises. Presently, the University has 11 programs that offer the doctoral degree. They are pharmaceutical sciences; physics; biomedical, chemical, mechanical, civil, industrial and electrical engineering; educational leadership; environmental science; and entomology - a cooperative program with the University of Florida.

FAMU displayed excellence both in and outside the classroom. In 1989, the FAMU Marching "100" Band, led by Director of Bands Dr. William P. Foster, was invited by the French government to participate in the Bastille Day Parade as the official representative from the United States. This event was held in celebration of the Bicentennial of the French Revolution. The Marching "100" continues to perfect its legacy of excellence, which has resulted in it being labeled as the "Best Marching Band in the Nation" by Sports Illustrated (August, 1992). The band received national recognition, in January 1993, when it performed in the 52nd Inauguration Parade in Washington, D.C., by invitation of President William "Bill" Clinton. The Marching "100" performed for the second Clinton inaugural parade as well as for the 2009 inauguration parade of President Barack Obama.

Tremendous efforts have been made to upgrade facilities and construct new buildings during the past decade. Completed projects include construction of the Benjamin L. Perry General Classroom and Science Research Building; expansion of the School of Business and Industry's east and west wings; the FAMU/FSU College of Engineering; the new College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences building; expansion of the School of Allied Health Sciences; a new Student Services Center; a 400-car parking garage; a 360-bed expansion at Palmetto Housing; remodeling and expansion of the Foster-Tanner Complex; and construction of the Frederick S. Humphries Science Research Center. Other completed projects include the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication's building and the Campus Recreation Center, the FAMU Developmental Research School (FAMU-DRS) campus, the Multipurpose Gymnasium and the renovation of the Commons Building.

Leadership in the new millennium

January 2002 , Henry Lewis III, Pharm. D , Dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, was appointed interim president by the Board of Trustees.

, the Board of Trustees named May 17, 2002 Fred Gainous, Ed. D., an alumnus, the ninth president of FAMU. Prior to his presidency, Dr. Gainous was the chancellor of the State Community College System in Alabama.

, the Florida A&M University Board of Trustees named December 14, 2004 Castell Vaughn Bryant, Ed. D., interim president.

,February 2007 Ph.D., chancellor of North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C., was named the 10 president of Florida A&M University. Dr. Ammons served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs for Florida A&M University from October 1995 until becoming chancellor of North Carolina Central University in 2001. Dr. Ammons commenced his presidency at Florida A&M University on July 2, 2007.

, July 2012 Larry Robinson, Ph.D., was appointed interim president by the University Board of Trustees.

., began her tenure as the 11th president of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) on President Elmira Mangum, Ph.D April 1, 2014.

, September 2016 Larry Robinson, Ph.D., was appointed interim president by the University Board of Trustees. This was Robinson's third stint as FAMU's interim president, including from July of 2012 to April of 2014.

, became the 12 November 2017, Larry Robinson, Ph.D. th president of Florida A&M University. Dr. Robinson served as provost and vice president for academic affairs from 2003 to 2005. In 2007, he served briefly as chief operating officer for the University and subsequently as vice president for Research from 2007-2010. Dr. Robinson took a leave of absence from the University to serve as assistant secretary for Commerce for Conservation and Management at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where he supported and managed NOAA's coastal and marine programs, including marine sanctuaries for preserving areas of special national significance, fisheries management to sustain economic prosperity, and nautical charts for safe navigation. He returned to FAMU in November 2011.

In 2019-2020, FAMU has experienced another period of unprecedented construction with the completion of the 700-bed FAMU Towers residence hall, the Center for Access and Student Success, (CASS) student services complex, and an outdoor amphitheater.

FAMU can credit much of its present academic stature to the leadership of its distinguished presidents:

Thomas DeSaille Tucker (1887-1901)
Nathan B. Young (1901-1923)
John Robert Edward Lee, Sr. (1924-1944)
William H. Gray, Jr. (1944-1949)
George W. Gore, Jr. (1950-1968)
Benjamin L. Perry, Jr. (1968-1977)
Walter L. Smith (1977-1985)
Frederick S. Humphries (1985-2001)
Fred Gainous (2002-2004)
Dr. James H. Ammons (2007-2012)

W.H.A. Howard (1923-24)
J.B. Bragg (1944)
H. Manning Efferson (1949-50)
Henry Lewis III, interim president (2002)
Castell Vaughn Bryant, interim president (2004)
Larry Robinson, Chief Executive Officer (May 2007 - July 2007), interim president (2012-2014; 2016-17) and president (2017-present).

For more than 130 years, Florida A&M University has served the citizens of the State of Florida and the nation through its provision of preeminent educational programs...programs that were the building blocks of a legacy of academic excellence with caring. FAMU, "Florida's Opportunity University," is committed to meeting the challenges and needs of future generations.

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The Whole Story Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) , founded on October 3, 1887, as the State Normal College for Colored Students, began classes with 15 students and two instructors. FAMU's destiny--to become an institution of higher learning, striving toward even greater heights of academic excellence.

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Deep Dive: The Tallahassee Bus Boycott of 1956

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Deep Dive: The Tallahassee Bus Boycott of 1956

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This article was interesting to me because you never really know how much of an impact a major event can have on your backyard. The Rosa Parks incident a year prior, sparked 13 months of boycotting in the midst of segregation. 2 students from FAMU led the movement after an incident on the bus where a driver tried to get them to move to the back of the bus.

On May 26, 1956, Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson, both students from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), sat down in the whites-only section of a segregated bus in Tallahassee. When they refused to move, the bus driver pulled into a local service station and called the police. The Tallahassee police arrested both students, charging them with “placing themselves in a position to incite a riot.”

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On May 26, 1956, Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson, both students from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), sat down in the whites-only section of a segregated bus in Tallahassee. When they refused to move, the bus driver pulled into a local service station and called the police. The Tallahassee police arrested both students, charging them with "placing themselves in a position to incite a riot."

In response, students at FAMU organized a campus-wide boycott of the city buses that attracted the support of local community members. One local community leader, Reverend C. K. Steele, helped establish the Inter-Civic Council (ICC) to coordinate the boycott.

Like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the organization created a carpool system to provide alternative transportation for local residents and students. Even with much harassment from local police, students and the local community sustained the boycott through December 1956, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in a case that originated from the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Shortly thereafter, Steele and other local leaders boarded the segregated buses and sat in seats reserved for whites without being ordered to leave. A month later, the city repealed the segregated seating ordinance.

Learn more about the boycott at Florida Memory. Read about many more Transportation Protests: 1841 to 1992.

Read more People's History Banned in Florida.

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May 26, 1956: Tallahassee Bus Boycott Sparked by Students' Protest

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Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson sparked a city-wide boycott in Tallahassee, Florida when they were arrested for refusing to move from the whites-only seats of a segregated bus.