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Weekly Message from Attorney General Bill McCollum
From the Arts and Sciences to Civil Rights, Black Floridians have played a critical role in the development of our national identity. James Weldon Johnson, the first Black man to pass the Florida Bar exam, was a Jacksonville high school principal when he wrote the lyrics to ?Lift Every Voice and Sing.? Johnson, an author, politician, journalist, poet, anthropologist, educator, lawyer, songwriter, early civil rights activist, and prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance, was first educated by his mother, the first female Black teacher in Florida.
Another significant influence in our state, particularly in the field of education and politics, was Mary McLeod Bethune. In 1904, Bethune started the Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in Daytona with only $1.50. Bethune went on to found Bethune-Cookman University and was president of the college from 1923 to 1942 and 1946 to 1947, one of the few women in the world who served as a college president at that time. She was also instrumental in getting Franklin D. Roosevelt elected president and was a member of Roosevelt's Black Cabinet, among other leadership positions in organizations for women and African Americans.
In 1925, Zora Neale Hurston became one of the leaders of the literary renaissance in Harlem, producing a literary magazine with Langston Hughes and Wallace Thurman. This literary movement eventually became the center of the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston eventually earned widespread acclaim for her stories about growing up in Eatonville, where she spent the majority of her childhood.
Daniel ?Chappie? James, the first Black Four Star General in American military history, was a Pensacola native. James was a flight leader in the Korean War where he flew 101 combat missions. Later assignments included service as an operations officer and command of multiple units. James continued his exemplary service in the Vietnam War, where he flew 78 combat missions into North Vietnam and led a flight in the "Operation Bolo" Mig sweep in which seven Communist Mig-21's were destroyed, the highest total kill of any mission during the Vietnam War. While stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, the Florida State Jaycees named General James as Florida's "Outstanding American of the Year" for 1969. General James was promoted to four-star grade general in 1975 where he had operational command of all United States and Canadian strategic aerospace defense forces.
Without these and countless other talented, committed and dedicated individuals, our state and our national history would not doubt be very different from what it is today. As we continue to recognize Black History Month, I invite each and every Floridian to appreciate these and other accomplishments and embrace the vibrant cultural diversity which daily shapes our state, our neighborhoods and our communities.
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