nytimes: Florida Legislature Apologizes for State's History of Slavery
Was it really Obama's speech on race that pushed the legislature to apologize? New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, and Maryland apologized in a similar fashion.
My mother is a native Floridian who was the second black woman to pass the Florida bar exam which allowed her to be licensed as an attorney in the state of Florida. She was told that despite having a law degree and her law license that the highest job position that she could have in the state was to be a social worker. This was in 1965! Same year as the voting rights act of 1965. So, my mother did not stay in Florida but remained in Washington, DC where she went to law school at Howard University School of Law. [My Mom applied to Harvard Law School and Stetson Law School. Both schools told her they were not accepting applications from black women at the time which was in 1962. I was never encouraged to apply to either school. I had completed an application to Harvard Law school but I never submitted it.]
Florida is the same state that denied black people access to the "white beaches" and there were black beaches created for their use. [Alliance Fights a Plan to Develop a Florida Getaway Born of Racism] For example in Daytona Beach, black residents had to access a small beach called Bethune beach if they wanted to swim or relax on the beach.
My mother shared numerous stories with me how she could not go to the white beach but her father could get away with it only because he was extremely fair and had a British accent. People did not realize my grandfather was a black Jamaican (he was mixed - his mother was a black Jamaican and his father was a white man from England) but because his physical appearance made white America believe he was white. My grandfather took advantage of the access given to him. However, he always taught my mother and her brother that equality is what he hoped America strives for one day. It was not until my mother graduated from law school did my grandfather become comfortable in becoming a citizen of the USA (which he did). He did not trust anyone but his daughter to help him go through the immigration process.
In addition to the apology, doors of opportunity should be made available to the descendants of slaves who continue to be on a cycle of not having access and training to succeed in the state.
This is a bitter sweet day for many in the state of Florida for I am experiencing a wide range of emotions with my personal family history tied into the state.