Four Florida civil rights activists are still fighting. But, this time around, it’s for their stories to be heard.
At the UF Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s “The Florida Civil Rights Struggle: Past & Present” panel held in Pugh Hall on Wednesday, the activists each told their experiences with the civil rights movement.
Panelist Vivian Filer, vice chair of the Rosa Parks Quiet Courage Committee, started the conversation about growing up in segregated Alachua County.
She said every morning, she had to walk by three white schools before she could get to her school.
“There were some white kids who would come every morning to run me off the sidewalk,” she said.
Panelist Dan Harmeling spoke about his time as a UF student and his efforts to recruit black students to UF. Harmeling said then-UF president J. Wayne Reitz fired faculty for being involved in the movement.
“Black students came to UF on their own in spite of J. Wayne Reitz,” he said.
Paul Ortiz, director of the UF Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, said the activists show how ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things.
“These panelists tonight will keep fighting until their final breaths,” he said.
After each panelist’s speech, students read excerpts from the program’s Alachua County African American History Project. The project, completed with support from UF’s Office of the Provost, showcases a compilation of narratives from the Jim Crow era to the civil rights era.
Filer said it’s important for students to hear stories like the panelists’ for a brighter future for everyone.
“I want them to know what we did and what we went through so we don't let it happen again,” she said.
