Past News - Black History Month 2022
A documentary telling the story of Fannie Lou Hamer will make its national debut thanks to the contributions of a FSU professor, alumni and students - It focuses on the incredible life of one of the Civil Rights Movement’s greatest leaders and the injustices that made her work essential.
“Fannie Lou Hamer’s America” will launch the landmark 10th season of America ReFramed with a special presentation.
Tue _ 22 Feb _ 9 pm _ PBS
Myron Rolle played as a safety at FSU & earned his bachelor's degree in Exercise Science in just 2.5 years with a 3.75 GPA.
In 2008 Rolle won the Rhodes Scholarship. Created in 1902 through a bequest in the will of Cecil Rhodes, a British philanthropist & colonial pioneer, the Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest international study award available to American students & widely considered the most prestigious of its kind.
In 2010 he was drafted by the Tennessee Titans. Rolle announced his intent to leave the NFL to attend medical school in 2013. He enrolled at FSU College of Medicine, graduating in 2017.
Today he is a neurosurgeon and the founder of the Myron L. Rolle Foundation.
2022 marks the 60th anniversary of integration at FSU - unlike other southern universities, Florida State's integration was achieved without violence or federal intervention. The Integration Statue, found at the heart of campus, was created by renowned sculptor Sandy Proctor and unveiled in 2004 - "Integration" beautifully depicts three pioneers:
◽ Maxwell Courtney _ first Black student to graduate from FSU
◽ Fred Flowers _ first Black student to wear a FSU athletic uniform
◽ Doby Flowers _ first Black homecoming queen
The 80s - what a time to be alive!
A booming decade filled with fashion & pop culture!
Just 20 years after integration at FSU, Black students were immersing themselves in rising technology and making history at Florida State within their extra-curricular activities.
16 Feb 2022 - FSU Alumni Association
Dr. Barbara Williams White was a three-time FSU graduate in social work (BSW 1974; MSW 1975, PhD 1986) and FAMU graduate (1964). She passed away July 19, 2019, but left behind a tremendous legacy in social work education and research.
1979-1993 She served as an FSU faculty member as a professor and associate dean. 1993-2011 Dr. White also served as the dean of the University Texas at Austin School of Social Work’s first African-American dean.
She was the only person in the social work profession to have held both leadership positions as president of the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education. Her work as a scholar focused on cultural diversity, women’s studies and domestic violence.
05 Feb 2022
The 1972 NCAA finalist Men's Basketball team were recognized during the FSU vs. Wake Forest basketball game at the Donald Tucker Civic Center - The team was the first in the south to have five Black starters at a predominantly white university. On their 50th Anniversary, we honored the team which produced the greatest season in Seminole Basketball history with a record of 27-6.
At halftime, Florida State celebrated Basketball Alumni Weekend - Among the more than 100 former players honored were the 1972 team, the 1991 team that won the Metro Conference Championship, and FSU legend George McCloud, whose No. 21 jersey was hung from the rafters of Tucker Center.
Groundbreaking jazz singer and activist Billie Holiday (1915-1959) frequently used her music as a political voice to challenge norms and raise awareness, as seen in her most famous song “Strange Fruit,” which told of lynchings in the American South.
Artie Shaw, who led one of the U.S.'s most popular big bands in the late 30s & early 40s, hired Holiday in 1938 making her the first Black woman singer to work with a white orchestra.
Holiday’s work was recognized during her lifetime, and she was posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame, and ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame. Her unique vocal style inspired and challenged a wide range of artists, both her contemporaries and subsequent generations.
Department of History @ Florida State University - FSU College of Arts & Sciences
04 Nov 1994
FSU presented Rosa Parks with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters
Her courageous act in 1955 launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott which elevated Martin Luther King Jr. to fame and sparked the Civil Rights Movement across the nation.
Rosa Parks was born on February 4th, 1913
1970 FSU First Black Homecoming Queen
Doby Lee Flowers enrolled at Florida State in 1967, earned her Bachelor's degree in 1971 & a Master's in 1973. After earning 2 degrees from FSU and a certificate in Executive Management from Harvard, she worked for high-profile mayoral administrations in Boston & New York. She returned to her hometown of Tallahassee to work in law practice management & consulting at her brother Fred Flowers’ Law Firm. Most recently, Flowers founded “The Magnolia Leaf Bed & Breakfast” in Thomasville, GA, where she provides a place for women business leaders from Florida to organize retreats, network and learn.