Photo Exhibits

Photo exhibits spotlight various topics in Florida history, and are accompanied by brief text intended to place selected materials in historical context.

Racism and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Florida


The Modern Movement Takes Shape

Organizations like the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), and SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) held rallies, marches, sit-ins, and demonstrations pressing the local and national government to give equal right to all Americans. However, it was not until the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that the nation saw concrete changes in race relations.

Gentlemen protesting segregated bus seating: Tallahassee, Florida (December 24, 1956)

Gentlemen protesting segregated bus seating: Tallahassee, Florida (December 24, 1956)

Image number: RC12419

Reverend C. K. Steele (center left), Reverend Dan Speed (center right), and Reverend A. C. Redd (pastor of the St. James CME Church) protested segregated seating on Tallahassee city buses by sitting in the middle instead of the back of the bus. This action ended a boycott of nearly seven months, brought on by the arrest of two FAMU female students for sitting beside a white woman. As a result of the boycott, 21 members of the Inter Civic Council were convicted on charges of operating an illegal transportation system set up as a car pool without a franchise.

NAACP Freedom Bus and riders (195-)

NAACP Freedom Bus and riders (195-)

Image number: PR00833

Mother escorts her two daughters to Orchid Villa School (September 7, 1959)

Mother escorts her two daughters to Orchid Villa School (September 7, 1959)

Image number: PR05173

Seth Gaines and his taxi: Tallahassee, Florida (195-)

Seth Gaines and his taxi: Tallahassee, Florida (195-)

Image number: N047239

He drove an independent taxi in the 1940s & 50s. In response to demands from civil rights activists during the bus boycott, he became the first African-American to drive buses for the Tallahassee City Transit on a regular route.

White peace officer, right, standing by the lifesaving station at Butler Beach: Anastasia Island, Florida (195-)

White peace officer, right, standing by the lifesaving station at Butler Beach: Anastasia Island, Florida (195-)

Image number: RC12414

Sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter: Tallahassee, Florida (March 13, 1960)

Sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter: Tallahassee, Florida (March 13, 1960)

Image number: RC03283

The white student reading at the counter is Bobby Armstrong and at the far right is reporter George Thurston.

Civil rights demonstration in front of segregated theater: Tallahassee, Florida (1963)

Civil rights demonstration in front of segregated theater: Tallahassee, Florida (1963)

Image number: RC11500

Included in the photograph are Patricia Stephens Due in the black dress and John Due's head above officer's cap

Negro students filling circuit court room: Tallahassee, Florida (May 31, 1963)

Negro students filling circuit court room: Tallahassee, Florida (May 31, 1963)

Image number: RC07120

Photographed here are some of the 220 Negro students who more than filled a circuit court room to face charges of contempt for demonstrating against segregated movie theaters. Circuit Judge Ben Willis ordered the demonstrations halted pending a hearing but the students, from FAMU, ignored the order and picketed one of the two white patronage theaters. Police arrested a total of 257 people involved in the demonstrations.

Boycott and picketing of downtown stores: Tallahassee, Florida (December 6-7, 1960)

Boycott and picketing of downtown stores: Tallahassee, Florida (December 6-7, 1960)

Image number: RC12402

Young white man stripping poster from young black woman's hands: Tallahassee, Florida (December 6-7, 1960)

Young white man stripping poster from young black woman's hands: Tallahassee, Florida (December 6-7, 1960)

Image number: RC12402a

Photographed during boycott and picketing due to the lack of progress in desegregating the lunch counters at Neisner's, McCrory's, F.W. Woolworth's, Walgreen's, and Sear's stores.

Segregationists trying to prevent blacks from swimming at a "White only" beach (June 25, 1964)

Segregationists trying to prevent blacks from swimming at a "White only" beach (June 25, 1964)

Image number: RC12407

Jailed minister reads support message: Tallahassee, Florida (August 5, 1964)

Jailed minister reads support message: Tallahassee, Florida (August 5, 1964)

Image number: RC12790

Rabbi Israel Dresner, of Springfield, New Jersey, one of the nine clergymen jailed on a 60-day sentence rather than paying fines of $500 each, reads messages of support for their integration activities. The group was arrested in 1961 for a restaurant sit-in demonstration and has been free on $1,000 bonds. All but one of the white and Negro ministers are wearing regulation city prison clothing. Standing to the right of Rabbi Dresner are Reverend Petty D. McKinney from Nyack, New York; Reverend A. McArven Warner (only partly visible) from New York City; and Reverend Robert J. Stone from New York City. Seated is Dr. Robert McAfee Brown, faculty member of Stanford University.