An Obama Reminder – The March Down University Ave
One would think this photo is from the 1950’s but it’s not. On November 25, 1969, some 2,000 students boycotted their classes and marched down University Avenue to a rally outside the offices of the Alachua County School Board to have the all black school known as Lincoln High integrated. You see even though Brown vs. Board of Ed went down in 1954 this Florida county still had not fully integrated their school. Instead they practiced an informal policy of “tokenism” — whereby a few black students attended predominantly white schools.
In January 1970, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Alachua County to fully integrate the schools immediately. The schools closed on Jan. 29, 1970, reopened a week later, on Feb. 7, they were integrated. The black high school, Lincoln High School, was closed, and about 1,000 black students were transfered to the 2,200-student Gainesville High School. Source
One boy now an adult told the Washington Post of his experience going to a newly integrated school
‘On that first day, Dad drove me to school followed by a Gainesville police car. I received stares, and was called all kinds of nigger. No one spoke to me. No one sat near me. I could expect each day to have some white male or female spit on me and call me nigger.
‘After about a month at the school, a group of white boys jumped me and beat me bloody. No one offered any assistance. The principal said, “How do I know that you did not come toschool bloody from your home? I did not see anyone mistreat you.” ‘
Yesterday when I wrote my first Obama Reminder someone accused me of race baiting. Claiming sarcastically that if one does not vote for Obama that would make them a racist. I clearly explained that these are just a reminder of the road we have been down. And a motivation of why we can not stop here. I liken it to the Goonies where Mikey gives a moving speech at the bottom of a well declaring that they have made it farther than the so called professional Chester Copperpot. This is more reason why we can’t stop now. So I’m going to ask for your help. I am going to raise 2008 dollars for Barack Obama’s campaign if you would like to help me raise the money please Chip in through the link below any amount would be perfect. Thanks.
