Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame: The Commission is Accepting Nominations!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 3, 2012

CONTACT:
Frank Penela (850) 488-7082 ext.1011

Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame: The Commission is Accepting Nominations!
- Honoring civil and human rights heroes-

Tallahassee – The Florida Commission on Human Relations (Commission) is now accepting nominations for the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. The deadline is July 1, 2012. The judges will be looking for individuals who have made significant contributions and provided leadership toward Florida’s progress and achievements in human and civil rights.

“We are once again excited to be accepting nominations for this year’s Civil Rights Hall of Fame. This program honors leaders and advocates who have tirelessly worked to protect the rights of various populations throughout Florida,” said Michelle Wilson, Commission Executive Director. “It is extremely important to honor the trailblazers who came before us and use their heroic stories as a way to educate and empower our next generation.”

Contributions of nominees can include community empowerment, legislative advocacy, grassroots organizing, coalition building, authored publications, organizational leadership, private and governmental entity diversity efforts and multicultural educational initiatives in any area of human and civil rights or related areas. Please visit http://fchr.state.fl.us/outreach/florida_civil_rights_hall_of_fame to view the rules, criteria, nomination form and other relevant information.

The Florida Commission on Human Relations, established in 1969, is the state agency charged with administering the Florida Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act. Fair treatment, equal access and mutual respect are the benchmarks of the Commission’s commitment. Through education and partnerships, the Commission works to prevent discrimination and costly litigation through teaching best business practices and fostering understanding amongst Floridians.

For more information, visit http://fchr.state.fl.us or on Facebook.

Bethune, Steele and Pepper Inducted as First Members of Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame

CONTACTS:Frank Penela (850) 488-7082 ext.1011

hof_picture_large.jpg

Bethune, Steele and Pepper Inducted as First Members of Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame
~Inaugural event a great success~

Tallahassee– Three trailblazers who helped shape modern-day Florida were honored today by being enshrined as the first members of the new Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Family members of the three inductees attended the ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, joined by Governor Rick Scott, Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll and other dignitaries.

Pioneering educator Mary McLeod Bethune, civil rights leader C.K. Steele and advocate for seniors and minorities Claude Pepper were recognized for their unyielding commitment to equality, diversity and human dignity. The Civil Rights Hall of Fame, authorized by the Legislature, will be a permanent display in the Rotunda area of the Capitol Building.

“In a state that changes as rapidly as Florida, the struggle for equality and civil rights can seem like ancient history. This Hall of Fame will serve as a permanent reminder of the courage and sacrifices that built today’s Florida,” said Michelle Wilson, executive director of the Florida Commission on Human Relations. “There is still much to be done to honor the legacy of these amazing individuals.”

The Governor and Lieutenant Governor presented commemorative letters to Dr. Evelyn Bethune, granddaughter of Mary McLeod Bethune; Charles Kenzie Steele, son of C.K. Steele, and Ms. Tina Pepper, sister-in-law of Claude Pepper. Also participating in the ceremony were legislative sponsors of the bill establishing the Civil Rights Hall of Fame, including Rep. Alan Williams and former Sen. Tony Hill.

Governor Scott named the first group of Civil Rights Hall of Fame inductees in January. Each year the state’s chief executive will select up to three inductees from among 10 finalists submitted by the Florida Commission on Human Relations.
-more-
The Florida Commission on Human Relations will soon begin accepting nominations for the next group of inductees into the Civil Rights Hall of Fame. For more information, go to http://fchr.state.fl.us/outreach/florida_civil_rights_hall_of_fame.

Governor Selects Bethune, Steele and Pepper as First Members of Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame

TALLAHASSEE – Three icons whose unyielding commitment to equality and human dignity helped shape modern Florida have been selected as the inaugural group of inductees into the new Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Governor Rick Scott has chosen pioneering educator Mary McLeod Bethune, civil rights leader C.K. Steele and advocate for seniors and minorities Claude Pepper as the first individuals to be enshrined in the new Hall, which was established by the Legislature in 2010.

The three will be memorialized on plaques displayed on a wall of honor in the state Capitol Building rotunda. The plaques will be unveiled at a formal induction ceremony to be held soon. The Governor selected the three individuals from among 10 finalists submitted to him by the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

“Each one of these individuals has lived a remarkable life, dedicated to forwarding the cause of civil rights,” Governor Scott said. “They serve as shining examples in our time as we strive to give everyone a fair chance for economic and educational development that will strengthen our state and nation.”

Under the law establishing the Civil Rights Hall of Fame, the Commission accepts nominations and submits 10 finalists to the Governor, who may select up to three individuals to be inducted. The legislation establishing the Hall was championed in the Legislature by Sen. Tony Hill and Rep. Alan Williams, along with many cosponsors.

“The legacy of these three trailblazers is all around us,” said Michelle Wilson, executive director of the Florida Commission on Human Relations. “The lives of all Floridians are enriched through their outstanding contributions, so it is fitting that they be honored for years to come in the seat of Florida government.”

The Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame honors individuals who were born in Florida or adopted the state as their home. The first ones being honored as inductees are:

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)

Mary McLeod Bethune’s work in Florida and the United States opened doors for all African Americans, but particularly women, and enhanced the lives of all people who needed an advocate. The first of her parents’ children born after the Emancipation Proclamation, she understood from an early age the value of education and a free mind. She worked as a teacher and missionary in South Carolina and Georgia before moving to the Florida community of Palatka, where she established a mission school for black children and taught their parents to read and write. In 1904, she moved her family to Daytona Beach and established the Daytona Normal and Industrial School for Colored Girls – the institution now known as Bethune-Cookman University. She served as president of the school from its founding until 1942, by which time she was a nationally recognized figure. She served as director for Negro Affairs for the National Youth Administration and as a special adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on minority affairs. She was elected president of the NAACP in 1940 and during World War II campaigned for desegregation in the armed forces.

Rev. Dr. Charles Kenzie Steele Sr. (1914-1980)

For a time, the only statute of a person in Florida’s capital city was of the Rev. C.K. Steele, who from his beginnings as a teenage preacher rose to become one of the leading voices of the nation’s civil rights movement. While serving at Tallahassee’s Bethel Baptist Church in 1956, Rev. Steele organized a months-long bus boycott that, though less prominent than its Montgomery counterpart, resulted in the end of segregated seating on city buses. He soon presided over the first meeting of what eventually became the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, serving as its first vice president under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rev. Steele served as state and local president of the NAACP and throughout the 1960s remained involved in efforts to eliminate racial discrimination in all public facilities across the South. His efforts to improve the black community continued throughout the remainder of his life.

Claude Denson Pepper (1900-1989)

As a state legislator, member of Congress and U.S. Senator, Claude Pepper is best known as the nation’s foremost champion of the elderly. Occasionally overlooked is the fact that, even as a young officeholder, Pepper also advocated equal opportunities for women, for minorities and for underpaid laborers. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives from Taylor County at age 27, and one of his first legislative successes was a bill that exempted all Floridians older than 65 from having to obtain fishing licenses. He also opposed a resolution that undermined the idea of racial equality. Later as a member of Congress, Pepper authored a Fair Labor Standards Act establishing a minimum wage and maximum hours for laborers, introduced a forerunner of Social Security, sponsored an Equal Pay for Equal Work for Women resolution, supported legislation to eliminate poll taxes and introduced a bill calling for “adequate health care for all Americans.” In the 1960s, Pepper supported all civil rights legislation in Congress and was influential in the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. In his later years, Pepper focused substantially on the needs of the elderly; one of the last major pieces of his legislative legacy was a 1986 law barring mandatory retirement based on age. He was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1935 and then again in 1982 – almost a half-century later.

The Commission will soon begin accepting nominations for individuals to become the second group of inductees into the Civil Rights Hall of Fame. For more information, go to http://fchr.state.fl.us/outreach/florida_civil_rights_hall_of_fame .