Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations
The Graduate School
2013
"The Way It Was": Race Relations and
Integration in Citrus County, Florida
Dennis Shawn Allen
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE
“THE WAY IT WAS”: RACE RELATIONS
AND INTEGRATION IN CITRUS COUNTY, FLORIDA
By
DENNIS SHAWN ALLEN
A Thesis submitted to the
Department of History
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
Degree Awarded:
Fall Semester, 2013
Dennis Shawn Allen defended this thesis on November 4, 2013.
The members of the supervisory committee were:
Maxine D. Jones
Professor Directing Thesis
Jennifer L. Koslow
Committee Member
Maxine Lavon Montgomery
Committee Member
The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and
certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements.
ii ACKOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank the Edna Foster and Betty Jackson who allowed me to interview
them for this thesis. Their information provided bedrock information for me to pursue through
other sources. Their willingness to talk about sensitive and personal information reminded me
that this was not merely a study but many personal stories.
I would like to thank my wife for supporting me. This has taken longer than either of us
realized it would. She is my best friend and clearly more accomplished- she earned a medical
degree in less time than I have earned an M.A.
I would like to thank former Track and Field Associate Head Coach, Harlis Meaders, for
offering me a scholarship to graduate school. It has changed my life personally and
professionally. I hope the program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is as
successful under his leadership as the FSU program was.
I would like to thank Dr. Maxine D. Jones for overseeing my thesis. She has forgotten
more than I have learned, but I do not think she has forgotten anything. She has encouraged me
to finish when I did not care to. She has challenged me, broadened my worldview, and allowed
me to empathize with many people and more situations beyond myself. I would also like to
thank Dr. Jennifer L. Koslow and Dr. Maxine L. Montgomery for being on my committee. It was
my great honor and privilege. I am so humbled by their participation.
I would like to thank the English graduate student who refused to accept my university
excuse to go to track meets most Thursday’s in the Spring semester of 2006. I missed so many
quizzes that my grade dropped from a B+ to a D. I had to retake that class, and I was able to
study African-American literature the following semester. That class was so enlightening that it
piqued my interest to study the historical developments tied to the literature.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………….......…v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………6
CHAPTER 2: A BRIEF SURVEY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT …………………........17
CHAPTER 3: RACE RELATIONS ……………………………………………………………..28
CHAPTER 4: HISTORY OF BLACK SCHOOLS ……………………………………………...48
CHAPTER 5: INTEGRATION …………………………………………………………………67
CHAPTER 6: LIMITATIONS ………………………………………………………………….84
APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................. 86
A. INTERVIEW SUBJECTS ............................... ………………………………………………86
B. SAMPLE LETTER OF CONSENT …………………………………………………………88
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………………….89
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH …………………………………………………………………...94
iv ABSTRACT
In 1967, Citrus County integrated its school system prompted by a federal government
mandate and loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The integration process occurred over18
months through two different plans, and it went smoothly with no protests or racial incidents.
What caused the county, who actively ignored the Brown v. Board decision, to integrate easily?
The answer is found in Citrus County’s economic development. The county developed post
Reconstruction with varied industries that brought in poor, black and white laborers. This
prevented entrenched racial communities and caused both races to share similar working and
living experiences. However, a subtle racism occurred through economic gain and education.
Blacks were not paid the same wages as whites, and their schools were not funded equally.
Blacks were denied an opportunity to access higher education because the county did not provide
a high school until 1947, at the mandate of the state. Interestingly, blacks made the most of the
funding they had and produced college students at a higher rate than the white schools. Still, they
did not achieve educational equality until integration in 1967. By then the county was moving
past the integration debate and providing a quality educational experience to a booming
population. This study shows that Citrus County integrated without physical incident and the
cooperation by most of the community. In large part, this was due to the county’s economic
development, which is explored in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 and 4 examine the systemic economic
and educational inequalities between the races. Chapter 5 provides an account of the integration
as well as state and community leaders who help guide the process.
v CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Citrus County sits on the Gulf Coast of Florida sixty miles north of Tampa. It was once
part of Hernando County, but in 1887 the state divided Hernando County into three separate
counties-- Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco. It is a beautiful county defined by three separate regions.
The first is the most western portion called the Gulf region, which US HWY 19 passes through
south to St. Petersburg and all the way North to Perry, Florida. Crystal River is the northern most
city and Homosassa Springs the southern most.1 Mangrove bushes and marsh line the coast with
multiple spring fed rivers flowing out towards the Gulf. The most notable are the Crystal River
and Homosassa River. The rivers are the life blood of the area ecologically and economically.
For centuries they have been used or visited for their fishing and beauty. The central portion of
the county are now predominantly retiree housing developments and unincorporated cities,
Lecanto, Hernando, Beverly Hills, and Citrus Hills. State HWY 44 runs through the center of the
county connecting Crystal River to Inverness. The land is sandy and hilly with pine forests and
farmland. In the past two decades, the retiree population shift has made the central part of the
county the nexus of the county economically. It typifies the service-based economy based on
house construction, country clubs, restaurants, and medical practices. The eastern third of the
county is the Lakes region. Among the sandy hills, the Tsala Apopka lake chain is strung across
the land eventually connecting to the Withlacoochee River. The two oldest towns in the county
1
Old Homosassa is a fishing village three miles directly west of Homosassa Springs. In the mid 20th century,
developers wanted to distinguish between the fishing village and land along HWY 19 that would be turned into
hotels and retiree housing.
6 are in the eastern third, Inverness (the county seat) and Floral City.2 US HWY 41 runs north and
south through both towns. Bordering counties are Levy to the north, Marion and Sumter to the
east, and Hernando to the south. Citrus County is defined now by a service economy for a retired
population. It was not always this way.
For nearly 100 years, Citrus County was a county of under 7,000 people, a quarter to a
third of them black. The county was racially segregated in many areas, but integration occurred
on a daily basis between those who worked together, lived near one another, or socialized
together. Officially, Citrus County did not integrate its schools until 1967. Then it was an 18month transition allowing both black and white communities time to adjust. Economic and
education gain were the driving motives. County officials integrated at the threat of losing
hundreds of thousands of federal dollars. The transition was smooth because the county
developed, post Reconstruction, predominantly inhabited by transient low wage, labor workers.
This prevented entrenched racial communities from developing and moderated the race relations
in the county. Nonetheless, the county participated in a soft, systemic racism exemplified
economically and educationally. Although Citrus County was considered rural and agrarian, it
did not fit the model of a Middle Florida plantation style economy. The county’s racism was not
defined by violence, but rather by slow upward economic mobility and unequal education,
robbing generations of black students the same opportunities afforded to their white counterparts.
Scholarship on the Modern Civil Rights Movement (MCRM) has been immense.
Historians have looked at national movements and trends as well as local movements and the
organizations and individuals involved in each. Historians like John Dittmer, William Chafe, and
2
Mary Mcrae recorded a hilarious story about the battle between several cities in the county for the county seat. A
vote was taken every two years from 1885-1889. Finally in 1889, Inverness stole the seat during a disputed election.
Mary Macrae, Citrus County Historical Notes (The Homosassa Public Library, c1976), 26.
7 David Goldfield have looked at the MCRM regionally and in various states. Their work has
focused on the social, legal, and political histories of states in the Deep South. Florida, however,
is not considered a Deep South state.3
In fact, Florida is not homogenous enough to be painted with a broad brush stroke of any
characteristic regarding its race relations or strengths and origins of its MCRM. The state had
been developed by different countries and economic interests leading to a wide range of cultures.
In her article “The Jewel’ of the South?: Miami, Florida and the NAACP’s Struggle for Civil
Rights in America’s Vacation Paradise” Chanelle Rose uses a poignant quote from V.O. Key to
describe the vast differences across Florida as a “ tremendous gap in tempo epitomized in the
contrast between a sleepy, rural Old South county of northern Florida and the bustling city of
Miami.” For a time, Florida was considered a New South state with moderate race relations that
did not experience the level of discrimination or violence attributed to other Deep South states.
Historians David Colburn, Tom Wagy, and Charles M. Smith have shown the nature of racism
and discrimination in Florida, the movements that took place, as well as the resistance by white
establishments in various sections of the state.4
More recently, histories surrounding specific Florida cities or counties have shed light on
race relations and the MCRM at a local level. Glenda Rabby, Chanelle Rose, J. Michael Butler,
3
See John Dittmer, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi (Urbana: 1990); William Chafe,
Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle for Freedom (New York: 1980);
David Goldfield Black, White, and Southern: Race Relations and Southern Culture, 1940 to the Present (Baton
Rouge: 1990).
4
Michael Gannon’s The New History of Florida (University of Florida Press: 2012) provides a tremendous synopsis
of the states development with consideration to colonization, economic development, and integration. Larry Rivers’
Slavery in Florida (University Press of Florida: 2009) puts a finer point to the economic development in Florida,
specifically the differences in the regions West, Middle, and East Florida. See David Colburn, Racial Change and
Community Crisis: St Augustine, Florida, 1877-1980 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985); Tom Wagy,
Governor LeRoy Collins of Florida: Spokesman of the New South (University of Alabama Press: 1985); Charles U.
Smith, The Civil Rights Movement in Florida and the United States (Tallahassee: Father and Son Publishing, 1989);
Joseph A. Tomberlin, “Florida Whites and the Brown Decision of 1954” The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol 54,
No 1 (Summer 1972) 22-36.
8 and Maxine D. Jones have revealed important information about the treatment of blacks
throughout Florida. Furthermore, their work is careful to consider the organizations and
individuals important to the progress of race relations in the state.5
What is important about each of these works is their suggestion that the MCRM was not a
movement by itself, but it was a part of a continuing progress towards equal treatment under the
law for both blacks and whites. However, these studies, in large part, do not take into account the
economic development of the locale in their study. Economic development is important to
understanding and tracing the systemic racism that contributed to the social, legal, and violent
discrimination that blacks confronted on a daily basis. One study that does incorporate economic
development and race is Thomas R. Dye’s “Race, ethnicity, and the politics of economic
development: a case study of Cedar Key, Florida.” It is a very useful study in its structure and
insight into the role of race (the focus of this work) in Cedar Key, a fishing village on the Gulf
Coast, 60 miles from Citrus County by road, less than 40 by boat. Cedar Key’s unique
geography, development, and history is similar to that of Citrus County, yet they diverge in the
mid 20th Century when Citrus County becomes a retirement haven and Cedar Key maintains its
fishing roots. Nonetheless, “Cedar Key” is the nearest cousin to any other study about race in
West Central Florida.6
5
Chanelle Rose, “The ‘Jewel’ of the South?: Miami, Florida and the NAACP’s Struggle for Civil Rights in
America’s Vacation Paradise,” The Florida Historical Quarterly Vol 86, No 1 (Summer, 2007) 33-69. J Michael
Butler, “More Negotiation and Less Demonstrations”: The NAACP, SCLC, and Racial Conflict in Pensacola, 19701978. The Florida Historical Quarterly Vol 86, No 1 (Summer 2007) 70-92; Glenda Alice Rabby, The Pain and the
Promise: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Tallahassee (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1999); Maxine Jones,
“’Without Compromise or Fear’”: Florida’s African American Female Activists”. The Florida Historical Quarterly,
Vol 77, No 4 (Spring, 1999) 475-502.
6
See Tracy J Revels’s Sunshine Paradise: a History of Florida Tourism (University Press of Florida, 2011). Revels
explains about race relations what many scholars miss. She shows the eye of the state government was on
development and Florida’s new place in the nation, not on the oppression of their constituents. Too often this is not
given enough attention in favor of the sensational acts of discrimination. So much can be gleaned from proper
9 This study seeks to establish the role of economic development in Citrus County as a
major factor in the systemic racism towards blacks. Throughout this study, I examine the nature
of race relations in the county and what precipitated a smooth integration process, by all
accounts. I will argue that the nature of the race relations were moderate, at times cordial, and
did not exhibit latent master/slave dynamics stemming from the antebellum period. I also intend
to show that the sustaining factor of the systemic racism of the county was its vastly unequal
educational system. Citrus County did not have an organized movement, an NAACP chapter, nor
was integration prompted by a law suit. Therefore, this study explores the county’s impetus for
maintaining the status quo as well as its minimal resistance to integration.
This history acts as a narrative insomuch as it is chronologically ordered, however, the
pacing is irregular. The first chapter provides an introduction of sources, methodology, and
historiography. The second chapter discusses the county’s economic history, covering a near
century in a few pages, to show the county’s economic determination as its primary motivation.
Consequently, this economic determination developed moderate race relations, yet persisted as
systemic oppression over blacks. The first chapter concludes with an examination of race
relations through the narratives of several individuals during the early and mid 20th Century to
show the soft systemic economic racism that existed.7
The third chapter focuses on race relations in light of economic development and through
social interaction. Chapter four discusses the county’s educational history with consideration
given to the segregated school system after the Minimum Foundation Program of 1947. It
understanding of economic development. Thomas R Dye, “Race, ethnicity, and the politics of economic
development: a case study of Cedar Key, Florida” (M.A. Thesis, Florida State University, 1992).
7
Reviewing county records, newspaper accounts, and the NAACP records, no mention of an NAACP chapter exists
for the time frame this study examines. An NAACP chapter started in the 1990’s, stopped, and has had attempted
revival until the present. A thorough economic history can be written as there are many sources available. However,
an exhaustive account is unnecessary.
10 continues the racism and discrimination through the lens of the school system. Chapter five
discusses the integration of Citrus County schools in the context of the first two chapters as well
as the national and state events surrounding the integration. I attempt to recount the process the
county went through as well as the community’s response to the integration, including steps
taken by the county School Board, the Superintendents, administrators, teachers, parents, and
students.
Only a handful of published histories of Citrus County have been written. Hampton
Dunn’s Back Home is the definitive account. In the county archives, it is referred to as “the
Bible.” Dunn, a journalist and native of the county synthesized the Chronicle and covered the
history decade by decade. It is comprised of headline stories with no overarching narrative.
Dunn is concerned with the events of the area and the people involved, but he does not provide a
narrowed focus or streamlined account of the county’s economic or political development.8
Outside of Dunn, the histories written about the county focuses on a particular region or
city. Marie W. Morris’ A History of Floral City and Tom Ritchie’s Floral City: Story of a Small
Town and it’s Place in Florida discusses the development of Floral City. A History of Floral
City relies primarily on personal anecdotes and the oral histories of residents to flesh out the
events that shaped it. The author uses outside sources and diaries to gain perspective on Floral
City beyond the views of those who lived there. The Citrus County Historical Society
commissioned A History of Crystal River. Broken into eras and decades, it is concerned with
8
Hampton Dunn, Back Home: A History of Citrus County, FL. (Citrus County Historical Society: 1989).
11 major events in the town, rather than its people. However, it has a chapter devoted to AfricanAmerican history.9
Although Dunnellon straddles the Marion/Citrus line and most of Dunnellon is in Marion
County, it has a place and role in Citrus County’s development. J. Lester Dinkins’ Dunnellon
Boomtown is a well researched and well written account of the city of Dunnellon. Dinkins
discusses the development of the town through phosphate and railroads while highlighting the
individuals who pushed progress in the county. It also addresses people who were affected most
by the change. Boomtown does a fine job of incorporating the development and life of blacks
when discussing the people of the town. Published in 1981, Homosassa: Nature’s Masterpiece
by Horace Carter discusses the ecology of Homosassa, and its importance in its development.
However, it is limited in its discussion beyond the author’s admiration for the natural beauty of
the area. Lastly, Back Roads is a memoir by a transplant, Betty Burger, to Citrus County. It is the
story of rural Citrus County, but it does fall victim to the parlance of the “good old days”
mentality. 10
Few academic papers have been written about Citrus County. First, Mills Lord’s David
Levy Yulee: State Senator and Railroad Man is about the life of Yulee, but a portion of the paper
covers his and his family’s time in Citrus County. It is well researched, well written, and
invaluable in explaining the nature of his time in the county as well as the role of his plantation
and slaves. Citrus County and the Great Depression is Richard England’s account of the county
9
Evelyn C. Bash and Marge K Pritchett, A History of Crystal River, Florida (Crystal River Heritage Council:
2006). Marie L. Morris, A History of Floral City (Citrus Printers: 1989). Tom Ritchie, Floral City: The Story of a
Small Town in Citrus County and its Place within the History of Florida (Hannie Printing: 1996).
10
J. Lester Dinkins, Dunnellon Boomtown of the 1890’s: The Story of Rainbow Springs and Dunnellon (Great
Outdoors Publishing Co.: 1969).; Horace W. Carter, Nature’s Masterpiece at Homosassa: Where the Saltgrass Joins
the Sawgrass (Atlantic Publishing: 1981); Betty Burger, Back Roads (Author House: 2008).
12 during the Depression. England examines the economic state of the county and discusses the
agricultural and infrastructure help Citrus County received during the Depression. Beverly Hills:
The Community with a Heart is a self published paper about the development of Beverly Hills.
Written by a resident, Stephen Dickter, the account relies on anecdotes from the land developer’s
family and residents of the community. It is surprisingly useful despite its modest publication.
For such an impact in the county, the Beverly Hills community should receive more academic
attention. Mary Macrae’s Citrus County Historical Notes is a memoir recorded by a native. It
provides anecdotes of frontier life in the county as well as an entertaining story regarding the
changing of the county seat. 11
Education is a popular topic among local histories. Not every school has a separate
written history, but several schools use one. Both black schools have histories written about
them, which I found to be the most accessible lens to view the black communities. Ron Mays’
Citrus County Schools, the First 100 Years is a synthesis of the school board minutes. Mays
describes and notes events and changes in the school system. The History of IMS, 1949-1982 by
Ronald L. Kirves is a self published history, but it is recognized by the Citrus County Historical
Society and the Citrus County School Board. It provides background for the school as it was the
site of Booker T Washington High School before integration, and discusses the school’s
development and various administrators and teachers in the school’s history. Booker T
Washington Elementary & High School is a self published paper by the BTW Alumni
Association. It provides basic facts about the school such as school colors, song, administrators,
teachers, and students. It also provides anecdotes and photographs acting as a collective memoir
11
Mills M. Lord, “David Levy Yulee: Statesman and Railroad Builder.” Although dated, this is the definitive
account of his life, specifically the events surrounding his time in Homosassa. (M.A. Thesis, University of Florida,
1940).; Richard L. England “Citrus County, FL and the Great Depression” (M.A. Thesis, University of South
Florida, 1994).; Stephen Dickter, “Beverly Hills: the Community with a Heart” (self published, 1999).; Macrae,
Mary. Citrus County Historical Notes, (The Homosassa Public Library, c1976.).
13 from those who attended the school. Knee High is Cassandra Copeland’s memoir about Carver
School in Crystal River. It gives voice to those who attended Carver, and it shares the
experiences of discrimination. It is not a narrative, but a collection of anecdotes.12
Two websites, City of Inverness and History of Homosassa, provided background
information on the development of each town. Neither town has a paper or monograph written
about it, so information has been collected and told in small individual histories on their
websites. The Inverness site contains information about the buildings in the historically
preserved downtown, and the Homosassa site has information regarding the Etna Turpentine
mill.13
Several books have indirectly touched on Citrus County. Each book is concerned with the
industrial or economic development of Florida, and in a handful of cases, Citrus County is
mentioned. These books provide context for the county in the state’s development and show that
the county did not develop in a vacuum. Ditch of Dreams by Steven Noll and David Tegeder
charts the development of the Cross Florida Barge Canal and the opposition to it. Al Parson’s
Lightning in the Sun is a monograph commissioned by the Florida Power Company (FPC). It
navigates the development of FPC from a local power company to a state and regional energy
provider. In Sunshine Paradise Tracy J. Revels traces the tourism industry in Florida.
Considering that these three industrial developments provided major seminal changes to the
12
Ron Mays, “Citrus County Schools, the First Century 1887-1987” (self published, May 20, 1987); Ronald L.
Kirves, “A History of IMS, 1949-1982” (self published, 1982); Cassandra Gail Copeland, Knee High: Chronicles of
the George Washington Carver Junior High School, 1923-1968, (self published: June, 1995).
13
City of Inverness, FL. “Downtown Historic Tour Guide, Inverness, FL.” http://www.invernessfl.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=199 ; History of Homosassa. “Etna Town and People.” Accessed December 14,
2011. www.homosassahistory.com/EtnaPopulation.cfm.
14 county, each book provides good context for the overall growth of Citrus County in relationship
to the rest of the state.14
Concerning primary sources, I used the Citrus County Chronicle, The St Petersburg
Times, and The Tampa Tribune. I spent six weeks going through the back logs of the Chronicle
searching for information on county change, race relations, and education. The Times and
Tribune were used when the CCHS had clippings of specific articles or when a search turned up
a result. I relied heavily on newspaper accounts from several decades, some even clarifying
events decades after the first articles were published. I also accompanied Chronicle reporter,
Shemir Wiles, on several interviews. She allowed me to listen to her interviews as the paper took
an oral history of events surrounding the segregated years of the county. I have notes on those
interviews, but I decided to cite her articles as the source for the material. Also, I interviewed my
grandfather, Gene Allen. He was born in 1928 and lived through many of the economic and
social changes of the county. I also interview John Grannan, the head of the Citrus County
Historical Society. He provided a wealth of knowledge and insight into the larger changes as
well as anecdotal evidence to those changes. Lastly, I interviewed Edna Foster and Betty
Jackson. Both are women who lived through or participated in the school integration in Citrus
County. They provided first hand accounts of life prior to and during the tremendous economic
and social changes.
I also spent a week searching through the Citrus County Board of Public Instruction
(CCBPI) minutes.15 I used Kirves’ paper as a guide, but also spent more time on the 1940’s,
14
Steven Noll and David Tegeder. Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida’s
Future. (Tallahassee: University of Florida Press, 2009.; Parsons, Al. Lightning in the Sun: A History of Florida
Power Corporation 1899-1974. Florida Power Corp, 1974; Tracy J. Revels Sunshine Paradise: A History of Florida
Tourism, (Tallahassee: University Press of Florida, March 6, 2011).
15 50’s, and 60’s since most change to the county schools occurred during those decades. In each
source, I found anecdotes, events, and persons who were relevant to this study. I synthesized
trends and noted outliers to form the narrative for this study.
15
It is important to note that the CCBPI Minutes referenced an audio recording of the debate regarding integration.
It was on a vinyl record. That record no longer exists, so that debate is not in the minutes, nor is it any audio format.
16 CHAPTER 2
A BRIEF SURVEY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Citrus County’s geography found it on a cleavage line between what Larry Rivers
divided into West, Middle, and East Florida. Whites came to the area by Spanish land grants and
the Armed Occupation Act of 1842. The county’s economy was not based on slave labor,
although it did exist at one point. There was only one slave plantation and it was abandoned
during the Civil War. After the Civil War, blacks moved to the county from around the South to
participate in the various burgeoning industries in the county. Due to transient communities and
a lack of slave plantations, a master/servant dynamic did not develop between the white and
black communities, although white oppression did occur, primarily through economic
discrimination. Through the many economic booms and busts in Citrus County history, blacks
and whites worked along side one another, yet blacks had little chance for upward economic
mobility. The nature of the jobs and the people who moved to the county created an attitude of
self reliance. Farmers, laborers, and then men and women in the service industry worked hard to
make a better life for themselves. Self reliance was valued, but it also created an attitude that was
not open to change, especially from outside influences.16 The county experienced several periods of population growth driven by various economic
exploits. Each economic trend caused a shift in population, bringing in new people to the area. In
1860, the county’s population was 1,200 people. By 1895 it had grown to 4,261. The initial
industry was sugar cane produced on US Senator David Yulee’s plantation on Tiger Tail Island
16
Larry E. Rivers, Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation; Mills M. Lord, David Levy Yulee:
Statesman and Railroad Builder (M.A. Thesis, UF 1940), 151-54; 65-70, 71; Dinkins 24; Bash and Pritchett 4;
Chanelle Rose in “The Jewel of the South?:Miami, Florida and the NAACP’s Struggle for Civil Rights in America’s
Vacation Paradise” expounds on the racial and economic differences the grew between rural North Florida, the
Peninsular region, and the urban areas of the state, specifically Miami.
17 on the Homosassa River. It was one of three plantations he held in Florida.17 “Cottonwood,” as
he called it, was near Alachua County and Fernandina was on the Atlantic Coast. Conveniently,
Yulee ran a railroad from Fernandina through Cottonwood to his land on the Gulf Coast. His
plantation in Homosassa was ransacked and burned by Union troops during the Civil War. He
was not present, but his family and up to 100 of his slaves he received from his wife’s dowry
were. They were alerted by the sound of their English Sheep Dog barking at Union troops
coming up the river. They retreated towards Cottonwood where Yulee would later be captured.
According to Larry E. Rivers, Yulee was a Middle Florida type planter (despite being from East
Florida), who brought his politics and lifestyle to Citrus County. However, Yulee’s influence
was minimal since he was the only slave owner and forced out during the war.18
The next boom and bust was the citrus fruit industry, from where the county took its
name. State Senator Austin Mann officially surveyed and plotted Floral City in 1883 (It had
settlers since the Armed Occupation act of 1842 when the US was trying to run Seminoles out of
the state). Mann declared, “It [Floral City] is situated in the great orange belt, in a climate
entirely free from damaging frosts.” Originally from New Jersey, so taken with the climate, he
planted ten rows of his own trees in Crystal River. By 1884 two other cities, Fairmount and
Mannfield, sprung up as a result of the citrus trade; each with a population from 250-300 people.
The Florida Orange Canal and Transit Company built the Florida Orange Canal to link the
17
For further reading on Yulee see Lord’s “David Levy Yulee.’” Yulee gave his name to many areas surrounding
Citrus County, but his influence culturally was minimal. He brought in the only blacks to the county at that time and
they all were taken to Cottonwood by his family during the raid.
18
Rivers 66, 253.
18 interior lakes of the county to a railroad spur for ease in shipping. However, that was short lived
after a series of frosts from 1889-1895 killed 90% or more of the county’s trees.19
The third was the phosphate boom. It overlapped the end of the citrus trade and lasted for
a decade a half. Charles Pickney Savary discovered phosphate on the east side of the county in
1899. Speculators from around the country came and set up shop. Up to eleven mines were
operational at one time. The phosphate industry brought an increase in the number of railroads
and ports and introduced electricity to the county. It also brought in a large number of transient
workers from near by counties like Duval, Flagler, and Alachua to as far away as Minnesota. The
population during this period peaked in 1905 at 7,543, growing over 3,500 people in ten years.
The Republic claimed, “Within a year Dunnellon has become famous on two continents, owing
to the discovery in her midst of what are probably the richest phosphate deposits in the world.”
England and Germany were the major phosphate buyers, paying up to $25 per ton. Land value
skyrocketed from $1 per acre to $12. The boom ended with the outbreak of World War I.20
The land boom followed phosphate, and led the county into the Great Depression.
Speculators bought up land at a rapid pace, mimicking the success of Henry Plant and Henry
Flagler. Large resorts and housing developments were built or planned, especially the coastal
forests in Homosassa. In the 1920s Homosassa built a grand resort hotel which attracted several
of the New York Yankees. It catered to their outdoor interests, like hunting and fishing.
However, when speculators defaulted on loans, banks could not make up the money they lent out
and had to shut down, so the county turned to what they initially did well- farming and fishing.
19
Ritchie 19, 23; Bash and Pritchett 17, 22; Dinkins 139-140.
Dinkins 110; Macrae 11; The Republic, New York April 9, 1890; Ritchie 24; Local lore has it that 10,000 people
lived in Floral City at that time. However censuses between 1890 and 1895 show only 5,500 and 6,100 people in
Citrus County respectively. Most likely the number comes from Cosmopolitan journalist A. Allen’s quote in the
story “The Great Florida Phosphate Boom” published in 1893, “In this way, 10,000 feverishly eager prospectors
overran the woods, and everyman turned prospector for his own forty acres.”
20
19 There were 257 farms in the county. Approximately 80% of them were between 10 and 40 acres.
Farmers grew watermelon, corn, beans, cabbage, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peanuts
to feed their families. The family unit worked together to keep the family fed and afloat. Gene
Allen, a county native who lived on a farm through the Depression, explained how his priorities
were divided “Well, every time baseball would come around, I’d ask dad ahead of time. I knew I
had to or else it was, ‘Dad, baseball season coming around. Can I play?’ ‘Well, can you handle
everything at the house?’ ‘I’ll do my best.’ Oh, there were many a time I’d come home from a
ball game and have [to] go do this, go pump the water like I talked about, feed the horses, feed
the cows, feed the turkeys, feed the chickens, cut the wood for mom and her wood stove. We
didn’t have electricity back then. It was get up and go.”21
The population had grown to 5,516 by 1930. There was only a growth of 300 people by
1940. Despite the national economic crisis and minimal population growth, the Depression was a
time of infrastructure and agricultural gains for the county. The self reliant character of the
county was displayed as residents took to subsistence farming to carry them through the lean
years. During this time, the federal government subsidized several works projects as well as
assisting farmers. In some instances, the government-subsidized farmers not to produce to
artificially inflate the cost of other commodities. The plan worked and aided farmers. By 1932,
Florida was shipping out $68,000,000 of fruits and vegetables. Farmers were subsidized with
goods, tools, and veterinarian services for their livestock. This continuation of agriculture kept a
handful of local stores open like the Dime Store and Dry Goods Store in Inverness. Both
maintained a high level of patronage throughout the Depression. The Dime Store sold farm
equipment, feed, and other farming tools and necessities. The Dry Goods Store sold clothing and
21
Dunn, 322; England 4; Gene Allen. Interview with Author. June 18, 2010. In possession of the author.
20 food. It was the only place in the county that sold men’s and women’s clothes in the same store.
The federal government also created several public works projects. The Withlacoochee River
Agriculture Demonstration Project employed thirty men to restore 100,000 acres of the
Withlacoochee forest. Furthermore, the federal government provided upwards of 300 jobs for
men and women to improve county schools, build a public swimming pool, community centers,
a courthouse, a jail, and road improvements.22
After the Depression, the county turned its eyes towards reestablishing a service based
economy. It had developed a reputation as a sportsman’s paradise because of its fresh and salt
water fishing, its vast forests for hunting, and mild climate. Keenly aware of the county
reputation for outdoor tourism, county members wanted to increase its popularity among in and
out of state tourists. Community groups, in conjunction with the Citrus County Chronicle, sent in
suggestions for internal improvements. The Chronicle ranked the suggestions and published
them with sample quotes from each. Third on the list was improvement to beaches, “3. Fix our
beaches so they can be used by all citizens and visitors. These improvements should be made
near town. Beauty and cleanliness will help attract all people in the area to our beaches.”
Ironically, Citrus County does not have natural beaches along the Gulf coast. The coastline is
marsh, wetlands, and grass flats. The eastern region has some shoreline around lakes.
Nonetheless, the county saw a need to improve and/or create recreational areas around bodies of
water. This request demonstrates the county’s recognition that they needed tourism to survive. It
showed an attitude shift from economic self-reliance to dependence on outside commerce.
Tourism became the industry. This was the trend statewide. Post World War II infrastructure
22
England 5, 64; Downtown Historic Tour Guide, Inverness, FL, http://www.invernessfl.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=199, p 1-2.
21 gains and disposable income allowed Floridians to play on the wilds and frontiers of Florida’s
past through roadside attractions and resorts. Alligators, Seminoles, and Mermaids were played
up to any tourist willing to let a local “skin the gator.” Yet, tourism was just the tip of the service
industry iceberg. 23
Increasingly, the county saw the benefit of permanent residents, not just seasonal tourists.
Retirement communities forever changed Citrus County along with Florida. Florida’s post WWII
tourism growth and the introduction of air conditioning moved the tourist season from the winter
to year round. Once valuable farmland that produced oranges, sugar, lumber, and cattle was sold
and turned into even more profitable retirement villages. By 1960, the Citrus County population
grew to 9,268. Beverly Hills, developed by Sam Kellner, was the first retirement community in
the county and its next economic boom. It was constructed in the north central region of the
county, and it brought a massive population surge, vastly changed the county demographic, and
shifted its economic focus from seasonal tourism to a service industry aimed at the northern, blue
collar retiree. Previous attempts to entice wealthy out of state residents failed in places like
Homosassa. So Kellner created an affordable and comfortable retirement community for the
working man.24 In 1960, Kellner bought land he called “the Alps of Florida” after flying over it.
He purchased the land for his project from Major Bellamy and proceeded with construction of
the first phase of houses, a gas station, and a motel. In order to market his new development to
working class northerners, Kellner built models of his homes on Long Island. Interested parties
were flown down to Tampa, driven to Citrus County, and lodged in the Beverly Hills Hotel all
23
Citrus County Chronicle, “Community Groups to Organize Here and at Hernando,” February 25, 1954, 1. ; A term
used to describe how a local would find multiple ways for a tourist to spend their money. Revels uses it in her book.
24
Revels 101-104, 118.
22 expenses paid. As the subdivision grew, so did the amenities like the community transit to local
physicians and out of the county to specialists the county did not have.25
In essence, Beverly Hills was a prefabricated community put together like puzzle pieces
from start to finish. Kellner built his own cement plant to aid in construction, as well. Homes
were 1,000 square feet for under $10,000 including land and landscaping. All the buyer had to do
was to provide the money and sign the contract. The county received a tremendous increase in
tax dollars through property taxes as well as a boost to local businesses. By 1963, the Chronicle
addressed the new residents, “Our county is blessed with an unusually large number of citizens
who have retired from their long years of keeping their nose to the grindstone… and we are
mighty pleased they have selected our area in which to spend most of their remaining years…
Have a nice summer vacation, but don’t forget where ‘home’ is.”26 Kellner’s legacy lived on
after his death in 1985. The Chronicle published an editorial column following Kellner’s death: “No single man has had a greater impact on the course of Citrus County’s history than has Sam Kellner. He carved a unique community out of the ills of the county’s mid‐
section. Beverly Hills was meant to provide the retired working men and women a place in the Florida sun that would be spirited and stimulating and yet financially possible for them. Few will argue that his grand design has not met the need of those for whom it was intended better than any similar project in the states.”27 Seeing endless possibilities and dollar signs, the Deltona Group, another land developing
company, purchased over 28,000 acres of land; 13,000 from the Black Diamond Ranch (a former
mining operation), across county highway 491 west of Beverly Hills. Over the next three decades
multiple retirement subdivisions were built: Citrus Springs, Pine Ridge, Sugarmill Woods, Citrus
Hills, Black Diamond, and Southern Woods. Each was targeted at a different economic
25
Stephen Dickter, Beverly Hills: the community with a heart, 1999, unpublished 1.
26
Dunn 430; Citrus County Chronicle “So Hurry on Back” May 16, 1963, 2-A.
Citrus County Chronicle December 29, 1985.
27
23 demographic. Each was built near a major highway, came with a clubhouse, and almost always
designed around at least one 18-hole golf course. The result of the increase in retiree home
construction was a population increase of 500%. From 1960 to 1980 the county’s population
grew from 9,268 to 54,703. 28
Change like this challenged locals who had lived through the Depression. After the series
of industry bubbles, specifically real estate speculation, locals were wary of a new industry based
on land acquisition or anything that might may put the county into debt. For example, take the
1950 debate on whether the city of Inverness should use a federal grant to add a sewer system.
Citrus County’s population was 6,111 in 1950, within a few hundred of the population over the
last forty years. Throughout the 1950’s the county’s development was on the mind of officials
and citizens, and the direction of the county was debated. It was also on the mind of the federal
government, too. The federal government offered to help small cities develop a comprehensive
growth plan with up to $25,000 in funding. Both Inverness and Crystal River applied recognizing
their need. Other cities like Ft Walton Beach, Ft Pierce, and Winter Haven applied as well. The
same year, 1957, the federal government offered the city of Inverness $63,467 to build a new
sewer system that would cost $211,557. The sewer system would prevent the city’s waste from
being pumped into its chain of lakes; the same lakes used primarily for fishing, boating,
swimming and attracting tourists. Over the course of four weeks, the city debated whether or not
to accept the money and borrow the remaining $162,000 from the Federal Housing and Home
Finance Agency. The opposition argued against entering the city into debt. However, state and
federal studies showed the infrastructure upgrade would increase the city’s worth and bring in
28
Dickter 2; Dunn 430; University of Florida, Warrington College of Business Administration, Bureau of Economic
and Business Research; T. Stanton Dietrich, The Urbanization of Florida's Population: An Historical Perspective of
County Growth 1830-1970 (Department of Sociology: Florida State University, 1978); Florida Estimates of
Population, April 1, 2003, January 2004.
24 more tax dollars. Furthermore, if the city rejected the funds, it would be required by law in less
than ten years to update its sewer system on its own dime. The referendum received tremendous
opposition. Yet it passed 290-275. These events show Citrus County’s initial resistance to
change despite their need for infrastructure improvement that would lead to greater economic
gain.29
The county’s conservative approach to economic and demographic change shifted in the
1960‘s. The county needed tourism to survive, and the introduction of I-75 threatened their
tourist traffic. In 1964, an editorial written in the Chronicle lamented the construction of I-75.
The state projected the county would suffer a 35% loss of traffic. The editor worried that the
drop in traffic would hurt the county’s economy, and he cited three other Florida cities
negatively affected by rerouting traffic. Losing traffic to interstates would decrease the tourism
dollars throughout the county. In the following week’s editorial, he solidified the county’s
commitment to and belief in the tourism industry above all, “We need the tourist traffic through
here, and that’s all there is to it.” The editor expressed the county’s sudden self-awareness of its
new place in the state. They no longer had high agricultural output or a phosphate industry. They
relied on tourism and balked at the idea that Citrus County might not be attractive enough for
visitors if the roadways took them through the center of the state.30
The Cross Florida Barge Canal (CFBC) and its affect on Citrus County is another
example of the county’s response to economic change. During the Depression, the Works
Progress Administration initiated a canal to allow shipping through Florida rather than around
the Peninsula. Work had started and stopped on it for two decades. The federal government
29
Citrus County Chronicle, “US Aids in City Planning,” September 5, 1957, 1; Citrus County Chronicle “Voters
Okay Sewage Plant in Record Turnout” October 17, 1957, 1.
30
Citrus County Chronicle, August 13, 1964, 2-A; Citrus County Chronicle, August 20, 1964, 2-A.
25 wanted to finish the CFBC. However, two factions of the county fought over if it should be
continued. One faction, mostly locals, wanted it because it would increase jobs and the county’s
economy. Yet, the growing group of transplant residents brought by retirement housing resisted
the canal because of the potential damage to the surrounding environment. In May 1965, ground
was broken on the western half of the canal in Inglis, Florida, a town just north of Crystal River.
The Chronicle covered the ceremony with an editorial, lauding the boost in economy. Three of
the local high schools provided marching bands to play, and the Crystal River Holiday Inn
posted on its marquee, “Welcome Cross Florida Barge Canal.” It would be a boost to the
economies and industries of the cities the canal was built through, and Inglis and Crystal River
would be recipients. 31
By 1971, due to environmental concerns construction halted. Workers stopped their
machines immediately and walked off the site. Locals from Inglis and Crystal River were
furious. An open letter to the Chronicle written by John Eden, an Inglis Farmer asserted, “It
seems utterly inconceivable that the President of the United States would categorically halt all
work on a duly authorized state and federal public works project solely on the emotionally
charged advice of misled opponents.” An owner of a local bar said, “There are plenty of people
around here who are opposed to the canal. But they’re the ones who don’t have a business here.”
In less than two decades, the county shifted its approach to change, specifically economic. Citrus
County embraced the service based economy of tourism, seasonal residents, and retirement
housing construction.32
31
Nell and Tegeder 152. 32
Noll and Tegeder 152, 194, 268.
26 From the time Citrus County was carved out of Hernando County, it looked for ways to
economically sustain itself wherever it could- agriculture, fishing, phosphate, real estate, tourism
and housing. After the Depression, the county was not as eager to embrace radical change,
economically or demographically. As it shifted from an agricultural to manufacturing to service
based economy, it also increased its population exponentially. By 1970 the county would reach
19,196 people; an increase primarily of white Northern retirees. Along with the population shift,
the county’s mentality shifted towards an acceptance of economic change. This aided in their
acceptance of cultural change, too. Still, as the county grew, the black population remained at
approximately 1,600 since 1935, making up roughly a quarter of the population. The influx of
new residents diluted the black community’s percentage of population to less than 10%. The
population shift only masked some of the issues faced by blacks, such as poverty and the double
standard of allowing blacks to work the resorts or attractions but not being allowed to attend
them. Blacks and whites had worked together and shared similar jobs and lifestyles throughout
Citrus County’s history, but a systemic soft racism was in place primarily through economics
and education.33
33
“Historical Census Counts for Florida and Its Counties: 1830 through 2000” UF, Bureau of Economic Business
Research. 27 CHAPTER 3
RACE RELATIONS
“Black and white got along… There is some good in people you know… Had always
been integration between black and white,” according to Helen Hopkins. She had been in Citrus
County since 1929. Her husband’s family had been there since before the turn of the century.
“You think they like you right away because they treated you and that’s how you judge it.”
Growing up, she did not recognize the more subtle discrimination she encountered. Later, as she
experienced better treatment from Northern tourists, Helen’s eyes were opened to the inequalities
between black and white communities in Citrus County, “the Northerners treated you different
than the Southerners,” noting that a majority of Crystal River whites, in her experience, did not
treat her equally.34 Hopkins’ experience was not unique. Blacks in Citrus County were victims of
systemic economic discrimination. While interactions between blacks and whites were non
violent, cordial, even friendly, a larger system of discrimination was at work. Blacks were unable
to move up the socioeconomic ladder with the same expediency as whites. This manifested in the
type of jobs blacks held, how much money they earned, and the manner in which they were
treated in the marketplace.35
Other counties and cities in west or central Florida experienced similar economic and
cultural changes. Cedar Key, Florida, a predominantly fishing village just 35 miles north of
Crystal River experienced growth from outsiders interested in the town’s economy and ecology.
Unlike Citrus County, Cedar Key lacked a black population. At one time, blacks lived in Cedar
34
Shemir Wiles, “That’s the Way it Was” Citrus County Chronicle, February 17, 2010, 1A; See Coburn’s Racial
Change and Community Crisis for more perspective on the role of tourism in the changing attitudes towards
segregation.
35
There are few scholarly articles written concerning the history of African-Americans in Citrus County. There is a
chapter “African Americans in Crystal River,” in Bash and Pritchett’s A History of Crystal River. It is a collection of
biographical sketches of blacks in Crystal River from settlement until the 1990’s.
28 Key, but the town was not far from Rosewood. After a racial incident in 1923 the black
population left.36
Table 1: Citrus County Population 1885-1970
Year
County Population
Black Population
1885*
7,178
1,186
1890
2,394
304
1895
4,261
1,643
1900
5,391
2,237
1905
7,543
4,315
1910
6,731
1915
5,235
2,276
1920
5,220
3,635
1925
5,374
2,063
1930
5,516
2,525
1935
5,599
1,727
1940
5,846
1,799
1945
5,427
1,681
1950
6,111
1,697
1960
9,268
1,555
1970
19,196
1,649
36
Dye 79.
*The 1885 population was counted as part of Hernando County. Citrus County became a county in 1887.
29 Unlike Cedar Key, Citrus County was the recipient of exorbitant growth and maintained a
rather substantial black population ranging from 1/4 to 1/3 of the total population from 19001950.37 The black population in Citrus County ebbed and flowed, as did the county’s overall
population, which was dictated by the changing industry. Lumber and sawmills provided
employment in the post Reconstruction years. The black population comprised roughly 25% of
the county population until the influx of seasonal residents and retirees in 1950.38
Also unlike Cedar Key, Citrus County did not exhibit physical violence towards blacks.
Whites and blacks got along, but systemic racism remained. In the 150 years of whites living in
the area, violent race relations accounted for two unlawful deaths of black men. One, a lynching
of a black Union soldier who was captured, and the other in 1911 when a black man, an alcohol
bootlegger, was captured after wounding a deputy sheriff in a gun fight. White vigilantes pulled
him from his jail cell in Floral City and hanged him. Early frontier life, especially boomtown
Floral City, was often lawless resulting in violence and lynchings regardless of race.39
Nonetheless, blacks in the county knew their place. “You knew your place… you knew
how far to go. We stayed in it if we wanted to get along,” said Edna Foster, who was born in Red
Level and moved to downtown Crystal River when she was three years old. But their place was
not directly shaped by the Ku Klux Klan or consistent organized violence directed towards
blacks. The only written record of the KKK in Citrus County’s history took place on October 16,
1965, when 350 people gathered in the unincorporated town of Hernando at a pasture owned by
Barton Bellamy. The Klan rallied peacefully and served BBQ to all in attendance before their
rally. The Grand Dragon of Florida, Don Cathron, came from Jacksonville to lead the
37
“Historical Census Counts for Florida and Its Counties: 1830 through 2000” UF, Bureau of Economic Business
Research. See Table 1.
38
US Census, 1950, Characteristics of the Population, Florida, 10-82; US Census, 1960, Characteristics of the
Population, Florida, 11-256. See Table 1.
39
Ritchie 26.
30 proceedings. They marched and burned a cross. The organization, the Knights of the KKK, was
an arm of the untitled American Klan in Cooperative led by Robert Shelton of Tuscaloosa,
Alabama. Cathron tried to publically distance the Knights from the St Augustine KKK violence
that took place during the same year, “We are non-violent in our work, and are dedicated to
working for a better America.” In a potential moment of self awareness (or shame), the Citrus
County Chronicle reporter noted a quick survey of license plates and concluded that a majority
were from out of the county.40
Folklore concerning violence in Homosassa had a strong influence on the black
community despite substantial evidence to the contrary. Inside the black community a healthy
fear of Old Homosassa existed. The original founding of Homosassa was initiated by fishermen
and David Yulee’s sugar cane slave plantation. After Yulee was forced out, African-Americans
repopulated Homosassa (and Citrus County) when the phosphate and timber industries
developed. Old Homosassa sat several miles west of the mainland of the county. A visitor would
need to travel on winding roads through wetlands and forest to reach the coast. The high volume
of timber and ease of access to the water made it prime for a lumber mill until the 1940’s. It
employed, predominantly, black men.41 Old Homosassa developed a reputation for being a place
of danger for blacks to visit, especially at night. “Well, see those are some of the things that
trickled down from the older generation. It was for protection, not because we were trying to
ingrain prejudice,” explained Edna Foster. Denny Allen told the story of playing high school
sports for Crystal River High School from 1968-1972. He said on road trips, when traveling
South down HWY 19, the black athletes on his team would not want to stop in Homosassa to eat
40
41
Edna Foster Interview; “KKK Rally Draws Large Crowd” Citrus County Chronicle October 17, 1964, Page 4.
1935 Florida State Census; 1945 Florida State Census; Lord 164.
31 or get gas. Additionally, a sign was posted at the entrance to the town. It warned blacks not come
into Old Homosassa at night.42
This mentality resulted in a tight-knit bond and communication throughout the black
community. Old Homosassa held the onus of violence against blacks in Citrus County; it existed
as a mysterious, self-contained town where once blacks were enslaved. It was a place where
whites holed up because they were angry with the changing landscape of the culture they once
lorded over.43 Homosassa was not a place kind to blacks, but violence was rare if nonexistent.
Instead, Homosassa exemplified a mix of economic interdependence and social restriction that
persisted throughout the county. Blacks were not allowed to eat at restaurants, which were often
seafood, but they did patronize the seafood markets connected to the restaurant. Homosassa’s
reputation in regards to race relations is certainly not disputed. If anything it was fueled by a
handful of racial incidents; each undocumented but nonetheless powerful enough to send terror
and fear into the black community.
Despite the lack of documented violence in Homosassa, intimidation was another story.
In 1944, Annie McCray, who went on to be a lifelong teacher in Crystal River, was twelve years
old. Her parents were required to pay a tax to then Sheriff Charlie Dean. She implied it was an
extralegal tax imposed on blacks. Her grandparents grew tired of paying, so they stopped. Their
house was burned down for their failure to comply. James Roy Jr. tells the story of his
grandfather, a net fisherman, having his boats vandalized by white men from Homosassa who,
42
Edna Foster Interview; Denny Allen Interview; “Blacks Struggled for Jobs” Jordie Woodward, Citrus County
Chronicle, Centennial, 70-71.
43
This perception took hold after the 1940’s when most timber jobs left Homosassa. Typically timber jobs were
black job, so the propagation of the violence rumors spread after blacks left the area.
32 “felt his grandfather was stealing from their business.” Roy, speculated that the fires that
destroyed businesses owned by black men and women were set by people from Homosassa.44
Homosassa was not the only place in county where violence and intimidation took place.
Physical altercations occurred from time to time, and as is the case with some, turned deadly.
Yet, it is impossible to determine if they were racially motivated. For example, in May of 1950,
Jesse McCray of Hernando was shot point blank by George Priest. McCray was black and Priest
white. McCray was discovered stealing fence posts by Priest and his father, Jim, on Pleasant
Grove Rd south of Inverness. According to the police report, Priest confronted McCray, and
McCray came angrily at Priest, who was still in his truck. McCray wielded a wrench and caused
fear in Priest who grabbed a shotgun from his truck. McCray grabbed the barrel, Priest fired, and
McCray was shot and wounded. Priest then traveled McCray’s house in search of his stolen fence
posts. McCray’s wife was not there but was called and told she could find her husband at the
hospital in Brooksville. McCray died soon after from his wounds. A coroner’s jury convened and
declared the shooting in self-defense and Priest was not charged. Both Jim and George Priest
gave the same account to the police and the subsequent State Attorney’s report. The investigators
found the wrench laying within two feet of McCray’s hand. The incident was deemed selfdefense. Somewhere between the extremes of anger and perseverance, frustration occurred.
Letters poured into the governor’s office asking for an investigation. Governor Fuller Warren
sought an investigation, and within a week of the shooting, the case was closed. The black
community handled the incident with grace and strength. Yet injustice was still on their minds.
44
Shemir Wiles “God’s Grace” Citrus County Chronicle, February 2, 2010, 1A; Wiles “Way it Was” 1A.
33 Even if the shooting was justified, the law allowed daily discrimination. How could they expect
justice in that confrontation? 45
Despite the various incidents described above, violence against blacks was not common.
Discrimination and segregation, however, was the modus operandi in the county. One place was
the city parks. The white and black communities did not interact at the city and county parks.
The whites had a pool and swimming holes in Inverness, and they had Legion Beach on Kings
Bay in Crystal River. In Inverness, the city created a “beach” for blacks to go to and access the
lakes. In June 1963, the wooded area next to a lake in Inverness was cleared for black use. The
Chronicle ran a photo, caption, and accompanying story reporting on the event. The photo
showed black workers using tractors to pull up stumps. The caption under the picture read the
black men worked “happily.” In the adjoining article, the Chronicle stated “This is a long needed
service which will be greatly appreciated [by the black community].” A handful of years later, in
1967, a black class from Crystal River’s Carver School did not have a place to swim, but Legion
Beach and its spring were just over a mile away. Under Principal Frederick Copeland’s
leadership, the class walked down to Legion Beach and swam in the spring. Former Carver
student, Cassandra Copeland recalled, “when we entered the water, all of the white people
departed.” As a result, the beach was closed for one year until the city reopened it fully
integrated and without incident. 46
Separate parks for blacks and whites were not uncommon in the South. Despite being
unable to reconcile the need for separate but equal parks with the uniqueness of the land,
Southern states attempted to provide public parks for blacks as well as whites. In 1951, ten state
45
Citrus County Chronicle “George R Priest Kills Negro”, May 25, 1950; Citrus County Chronicle, “ Governor
Warren Calls for Report on Shooting of Hernando Negro.” June 1, 1950.
46
“Negro Beach Are Progressing” Citrus County Chronicle June 13, 1963 ; Copeland, Cassandra Gail. Knee
High:Chronicles of the George Washington Carver Junior High School, 1923-1968, June 1995. Page 17.
34 parks existed through 6 states (FL, GA, KY, SC, TN, VA) for exclusive use by blacks. Thirteen
parks had been constructed for whites with $7,532,042 of state funds. In many states, there were
no laws keeping the parks segregated by race, but rather customs and tradition. In North
Carolina, they relied on “tradition and understanding.” In Florida, a state park for blacks was
constructed on Little Talbot Island near Jacksonville. However, some cities did not take to
segregated municipalities. In 1958, Pensacola, West Palm Beach, and Miami public golf courses
were integrated. However, separate clubhouses were provided so blacks and whites did not
socialize.47
Citrus County’s race relations were a give and take about what blacks could and could
not do. There was a subjective gray area where whites and blacks could be apprehensive towards
one another or trust one another. John Grannan told the story of his mother and a white woman
he would not name out of discretion. His mother, much like many women in Citrus County,
employed a black woman as a maid around the house. Maids would do a variety of work from
cleaning, to laundry, to watching the children, to grocery shopping. John’s mother was
progressive enough to not subscribe to the racial distinctions that many in the town subscribed to.
For example, John recalled as a little boy playing in the front yard with the child of the maid, and
a neighborly woman called his mother and informed her that the John was playing with a
“colored” child. She responded, “I know.” But ever polite and not wanting to ignore her the
neighbor, she instructed the two to play in the back yard rather than dismiss the playing at all.
Further, John’s mother and the maid who worked for her would ride to the grocery store together
in his mother’s car. They both would sit in the front seat, and John’s mother thought nothing of
47
Series 226, Box 3, FF4 Southern Regional Council, 63 Auburn Ave NE Atlanta, GA. “State Parks for NegroesNew Tests of Equality” Pamphlet April-May 1954, Vol 9, Nos. 4&5; 226, Box 3, FF4, Minutes from North Carolina
Board of Conservation and Development, July 1&2, 1957.; Southern Regional Council; Series 226, Box 3, FF 4
Governor’s Advisory Commission on Reace Relations, “Desegregation of Recreational Facilities in the Southern
States” August 1960.
35 it. But her neighbor called her and questioned her as to the practice saying that was not
acceptable. His mother asked what she should do, and the neighbor replied the maid should sit in
the back. She explained that she did not let her maid sit in the front seat. The irony was lost on
her. In an effort to assert her authority over blacks and to ensure they knew their place, she in all
practicality, chauffeured her maid around.48
Most places in the county were segregated, like the movie theater, restaurants, and
schools, but not all whites nor all places held to this practice. From early to mid 20th century,
there were only a handful of doctors: Dr. W.B. Moon, Dr. Porter Hudson, and Dr. Sam Miller.
Each treated whites and blacks, would make house calls, and if someone could not afford
medical care, each would take payment of crops, fruit preserves, or a service. In the scope of
research done for this thesis, not a negative word was written or spoken about those three men.
In fact, it was highlighted on several occasions that they treated blacks the same as whites, and
would not require payment if it was in the best interest of the patient. However, it is also noted
that when the Citrus Memorial Hospital went into development in Inverness, the clinic which
preceded it maintained segregated waiting rooms. Black nurses were hired, and on staff to assist
black patients. 49
From 1947-1967 high school football games were not strictly segregated. It was not
uncommon for whites to attend the black high school, BTW’s, football games because Citrus
High School did not have a very good football team. John Grannan and his father attended the
BTW football games, too. Grannan’s father was the band leader at Citrus High School, so he
would attend the BTW football games to see what their band was playing. The locals in
48
John Grannon Interview with the author. 49
Bash and Pritchett 42; Dunn 387.
36 Inverness wanted to see a good game on Thursday nights. Archie Dabney, Football Head Coach
at BTW said they served concessions at the games because it helped raised money for the school,
but he added the food, “forced people to mingle.”50
Despite the cordiality of many in the county, daily interactions were a reminder as to who
was superior and who was inferior. For example, Tuna Whaley, a black man who grew up in
Citrus County in the early 1900’s said that he, “never went to school a day in his life, but was
mostly raised in the turpentine camps where my Daddy worked.” His father died when Tuna was
12, so he hauled cedar on a train to the mills in Wilcox Junction, Crystal River, and Homosassa.
Whaley worked for A.D. Williams. Williams loved Whaley and called him a “choicey.”51 It was
a term, Whaley described fondly, as being for choice blacks. Williams never let Whaley use the
back door and even threw him a birthday party. This was a great privilege for Whaley, but only
because he was black. If he were white, it would have been expected.
Physical violence was irregular, but social segregation and discrimination were daily
occurrences. A larger more systemic racism acted as a form of oppression against blacks,
economic discrimination. Blacks were prevented from economic gain outside of owning their
own businesses. Nonetheless, the black community supported each other, provided for their
children, and began to develop a separate economy. Blacks could find employment so long as
they would work a labor or service job; a majority of blacks did. From the end of slavery to the
end of the Depression, black men worked as farmers, mill and mine workers, barbers, fishermen,
oystermen, trash haulers, or shoe shiners. Black women served as nannies, house cleaners,
beauticians, nurses, teachers, or midwives. These jobs were steady, and the men and women
50
John Grannan Interview; Lyle McBride, “Coach Turned Principal Recalls Smooth Transition” Citrus County
Chronicle, April 13, 1990, Page 1.
51
Esther Duncan, “A Pioneer Talks About Early Citrus” Citrus County Chronicle November 7, 1989 1C, 3C.
37 were good employees. The primary difference between the black community and white
community in relationship to holding jobs is that blacks were unable to rise from low wage/high
intensity work to management, ownership, or what was considered white collar positions like a
banker with the same expediency, if at all, as whites. If blacks wanted to make economic gains,
they had to move away from the county to achieve higher education or enlist in the military.
Blacks who stayed in the county worked hard, lived frugally, and moved very slowly up the
economic ladder. Crystal River native, community stalwart, and businessman, Frederick
Copeland, who was born and raised in Crystal River, told the Chronicle in 1987, “this city has
always been a fair city. Blacks have always had an opportunity for business in Crystal River.”
Copeland was a former educator in the county at George Washington Carver School, an Army
veteran, and an accountant. It was not uncommon for Copeland to purchase dilapidated houses,
restore them, and rent them at low cost. He echoed the reality that economic success did not
come as quickly as it did for whites, “the success they [black laborers] achieved didn’t come as
easy. When they found success, that’s where they stayed.”52
Most blacks worked as laborers. Mining, cedar mills, and farming were the predominant
jobs, but fishing, construction, or being a handyman were other alternatives. In 1930 the black
population in Citrus County was 2,525, of a total population of 5,516. About half of all labor
jobs that were not farming were held by black men. Of the 70 forestry positions, 48 were black
employees. Over half of miners were black (13 of 25). Thirty of the 76 sawmill jobs were held
by black men. Of 195 service jobs in Citrus County, 183 were held by black women. There were
fewer blacks (1,697) in the county by 1950. A third of all black males worked as laborers in
52
Jim Ross “He’s Going to be Really Missed” St Petersburg Times; Esther Duncan “A Glimpse of Yesterday”
Citrus County Chronicle November 27, 1990, 1C,6C; Helen Matchett Rushing “Memories of Grandma and
Buckrah” Citrus County Chronicle March 22, 1998, 1C, 4C; Jordie Woodward “Blacks Struggle for Jobs,
Education” Citrus County Chronicle July 1, 1987 “Centennial” 70-71.
38 positions that did not include mining or farming, while 4 out of 5 black females were in service.
Two out of 3 black women in service were private maids. Work was important for survival so of
the population above the age of 14, only 9 were unemployed. In comparison to the entirety of the
county, nearly 1 out of 2 males in the county worked in labor of some kind; farming, forestry,
fishing, mining, or construction. Meanwhile only 1 in 4 women worked in service. Illustrated in
these numbers are the available jobs for blacks. While, the black population made up roughly
half of all service and labor employees for the county, but for the black population, over 95% of
their jobs were in labor or service. Management positions and professional jobs were unavailable
to blacks. 53 Working in turpentine and cedar mills were the most common means of employment
for blacks. Turpentine mills were common due to the large number of pine trees in the county.
The number of overall turpentine stills in the county is unknown. Homosassa and Inverness had
several mills. In 1911, Inverness had a mill with 1,000 employees. Blacks lived on a hill above
the mill, as it was the custom to have housing for workers near the mill. One Mile Still, a
turpentine plant was just outside the city limits, as well. Yet, mills provided jobs for numerous
men. In some ways, these mills acted as an extension of slavery. Established in 1897, the Etna
mill in southern Citrus County employed white and black men and leased convicts from the
state.54
Besides working for mines or mills, blacks farmed. Blacks who owned their own land
were less common than those who farmed for a living, however some black families owned their
own farm. In 1930, of the 1,714 famers in the county, 147 were black.55 Vegetables were grown
to sell and offset the cost of food. Doretha Wilkerson grew up on her grandparents’ farm. Her
53
US Census 1930, Florida, 427; 1950, Florida, 10-104.
“Etna and People” www.homosassahistory.com/EtnaPopulation.cfm. December 14, 2011; “Lost Town Lies on
Pipeline Route” St Petersburg Times Bridgett Hall Grumet May 13, 2001; Dunn 212; Woodward “Blacks Struggle”;
African-Americans in Florida, Maxine D. Jones and Kevin McCarthy Pineapple Press Sarasota 1993. 53
55
US Census, 1930, 427.
54
39 life exemplified the pattern of economics and education present for blacks living from the early
to mid 20th Century in Citrus County. Doretha Wilkerson was born in 1927, and grandmother,
Annie Smith who was a midwife, delivered her. Her grandfather worked for a grocery store in
town. Wilkerson lived with her grandmother and grandfather from ages 2-8 on their farm just
north of Crystal River. Her mother, Luvinia Newsome, was a maid and her father, John, was a
laborer at a cedar mill to the northeast of town. She had two uncles who worked as laborers
collecting sap from trees for the turpentine factory. At the age of 8, she moved back in with her
parents and finished George Washington Carver Junior High School at the 8th grade. She had
also attended Carver while living with her grandparents. Money was short, so she walked two
miles to and from school without shoes. Her grandmother made Doretha and her siblings walk
barefooted along the gravel road to school so they would not wear out the soles of the shoes.
Upon reaching school the children were allowed to put their shoes on again. The same frugal
principle applied for gifts as well. During Christmas, the “necessary things” were given as gifts:
fruits, nuts, and sometimes clothing. Her father was transferred to Homosassa to work in a mill,
and the family moved with him. They stayed for one year, then, after she completed the 8th
grade, her family moved to Ocala because her father got a job running a mill. Wilkerson attended
Howard Academy in Ocala and eventually married, had two sons, and settled down in Ocala. She
earned a cosmetology license and began practicing hair. She credited her passion for doing hair
from her play when she was a child. As a young girl, she would make dolls from pieces of wood
she found outside and fashioned them with hair she made from the roots of weeds. “That is how I
learned to braid hair,” she said. In 1962, she moved back to Crystal River when her mother
became ill. In order for Wilkerson and her family to become successful, they had to move away
from Citrus County to enjoy economic and educational opportunities. Not until after she had
40 become established did she return to her hometown, and even then it was at the prompting of a
family illness.56
For men, college education and military allowed for ways out of the county. James Roy
Jr is an example of a black man who needed to leave the county to achieve economic and
educational mobility. Roy was born on March 5, 1933. He lived in Crystal River until he finished
the 8th grade. There was not a high school in the immediate area for blacks to attend, so Roy and
his family moved to Ocala where he could attend Howard Academy. After Roy graduated, he
moved back to Crystal River and worked as an oysterman, but he was turned off to the lifestyle
blacks had in Citrus County. He left for North Carolina where he graduated from North Carolina
A&T. After obtaining a college degree, he enlisted in the Army Medical Corps where he stayed
for 20 years. He then enrolled and graduated from the University of Rochester in New York with
a Masters degree in radiation biology and physics. Roy moved back to Florida and started a
business as a radiation physicist. The county did not offer a diverse range of economic or
educational opportunities that kept black men and women from leaving, nor did it allow
advancement for those who stayed.57
Ken Dougherty is another example of external economic upward mobility. Dougherty
lived in Red Level in the 1940’s. His father was a wood rider. As a boy, Ken made a living out of
catching mullet, smoking it, and selling it. He attended school in Dunnellon before the building
was moved to Inverness. Ken fought in the Korean War and returned to Citrus County where he
56
57
Shemir Wiles “ This is Home” Citrus County Chronicle February 22, 2010, 1A.
Wiles “God’s Grace,” 1A.
41 worked at the Florida Power Company. He settled at Pete’s Pier, a local marina on King’s Bay,
and stayed for thirty years.58
Despite the lack of opportunities, black men and women stayed in the county and
developed lives for themselves and their children as well as creating the necessary businesses
they hoped would open more opportunities for blacks in the community. Jack Wims, Edna
Foster’s father, made it the goal of his adult life to provide affordable housing for blacks so they
did not have to settle for living in factory provided shanties or poorly constructed buildings. Jack
built the first house in a section of town called “Knight’s Addition” (now called the Quarters) in
1950. Originally, Jack worked as an oysterman, and his wife a shucker. He also worked in cedar
mills. Wims saved money and supplies to build affordable houses for blacks to rent at a
reasonable rate. A.G. Gibbs has a similar story. He graduated from BTW and became a medical
technician. He also developed affordable housing in Inverness for black families.59
Helen Hopkins was born July 17, 1924, in Trenton, Florida, but moved to Crystal River
at age five, with her sister Mildred, following the death of their mother. She moved to live with
her older sister Eva Mae who had a restaurant called the “Café” on Citrus Ave. Eva Mae also
cooked for the laborers at the cedar mill northeast of town, the same mill Doretha Wilkerson’s
father worked at. 60 Eva Mae’s shop was “the hang out” for black folk from the 1940’s-70’s. Eva
Mae did not have children. She asserted, “I lost a baby with a miscarriage, but I raised a lot of
white and black children.” Two of those children were her sisters, Helen and Mildred. As Helen
got older, she helped her sister with making food for the workers. They moved several times
following the workers as the workers followed the mills. Hopkins and her sisters moved to a
58
“Man Retires after more than 30 years at Pete’s Pier” Citrus County Chronicle 1A, 4A.
Edna Foster Interview; “He Will Surely be Missed” Schlenker, Dave. Citrus County Chronicle. September 20,
1990.
60
Ibid
59
42 wooded area almost two miles East of HWY 19 south of Crystal River. Then when the workers
moved to Homosassa, Hopkins and her sisters moved to Homosassa to make food for the
workers there. Similarly to Wilkerson, Hopkins wanted a high school education and would have
to attend Howard Academy in Ocala to earn it. However, her family did not have the money to
send her away so she began to do what was acceptable for many black women to do as a
profession, she cleaned houses. In 1945, Helen married a childhood sweetheart, Willie Hopkins,
a lumberman. He cut pulpwood, and “had his own truck. Own job.” Helen went on to work in the
school system as a cook for Crystal River High School and Crystal River Primary, eventually
retiring from the primary school after nineteen years of service. Willie was the son of Oscar
Hopkins and Pinkie Mack. Oscar was born in the West Indies and moved to Georgia with his
family in 1870. He moved to Crystal River in 1910 and worked in the timber industry as an
independent contractor. He would cut cedar and sell it to a pencil factory on King’s Bay. He
married Pinkie Mack when he was 57 and had three children. Willie, his youngest son, followed
in his father’s footsteps as an independent pulpwood contractor.61
The lives of Helen and Willie Hopkins may appear trivial or mundane in the wide
historical perspective, but their lives illustrate the opportunities afforded or denied to them based
on their skin color. Helen was unable to attend high school because Citrus County did not have a
high school for blacks her to attend at the time, thus limiting her opportunity for higher
education. Nonetheless, Helen Hopkins’ perseverance and ability to survive by making ends
meet showed persistence and tenacity. Her statements about her husband’s job and truck were
laced with pride because it was difficult for black men, at the time, to have ownership over their
entire life. He and his family were economically autonomous.
61
Nancy Kennedy, “Celebrating ‘At Least’ a Century,” Citrus County Chronicle, January 26, 2005, Page A1; Wiles,
“Way it Was”; “Oscar Hopkins”. Freeman, Mildred. Citrus County Historic Society.
43 For every story about hard work and success, there is a story about hard work and the toll
it took on laborers. Economic success was directly tied to the ability of the worker to stay
healthy. If sickness or injury arose, then money would not be made. Betty Jackson’s parents were
both laborers; her mother was an oyster shucker and then a house maid in her elder years. Her
father worked on a “wood rider” and then as a mechanic. For the turpentine mills to produce,
laborers (often black men) would chip tress for the sap to be drawn out. Betty’s father would ride
on horseback through the forests in Red Level acting as a foreman checking the trees to make
sure they were chipped correctly. The sap was stilled and barreled, and then shipped to
Jacksonville. After the turpentine mills shut down, he went into business for himself. Jackson
recounted, “when we moved to Crystal River he had managed to get an old raggedy truck. And
of course he was a pretty good mechanic so he kept it running. But he went into business for
himself doing that kind of work. So that’s what he did until 1970 when a cord of wood slipped
and fell on him. And he was all broken up, so of course then he could not work.” Her mother
continued to work for a family just north of Crystal River in Inglis to support them.62
Even as small as Citrus County was, separate economies were necessary, and blacks kept
to themselves. The mining industry paid both black and white laborers well. Blacks reinvested
their money back into their community and began to develop an autonomous private community.
In other words, the community had businesses, social centers, schools, and religious institutions.
Voter registration rolls in Inverness from 1880-1921 show a steady growth of black businesses
(as well as 80 men and women black voters). A few black men went from being only laborers
and farmers to mail carriers, barbers, ministers, engineers, blacksmiths, and even a deputy
sheriff. Yet, the community lacked the public funding for education or the economic mobility to
62
Betty Jackson. Interview with the Author. March 30, 2010. In possession of the Author.
44 place their institutions on an equal plane with the white community.63 Through the long era of
segregation blacks slowly developed their own businesses, creating a stratified economy.
Although business owners, comprising the upper class, were almost exclusively white, a handful
of black men and women owned businesses servicing the black community and occasionally the
white as well.
Although to prosper economically outside of a labor force, blacks had to “keep their
place.” In 1913, Frank Graham, a barber and prominent member of the black community in
Inverness bought the old court house from the county for $1,250. He had it moved to his
property and used it as a boarding house and dance hall. The Chronicle reported, “Frank is a
hustler and being frugal in his habits and knowing and keeping his place as a Negro, has
accumulated considerable property, and is considered well off and respected by all.” These
establishments gave blacks the opportunity to gather outside of the home or church without being
treated as second class citizens at a restaurant or store. Eva Mae’s hang out, “The Café” provided
this kind of safe place for blacks in Crystal River.64 Moving towards mid cenutry, blacks
developed and owned more businesses. Willie Smith maintained a restaurant and a dry cleaning
business just south of Citrus Avenue on the east side of HWY 19. Further south on HWY 19 near
the intersection of HWY 44, Richard Moore owned a Bible Shop. A grocery store owned by a
black man was operated down on HWY 44. On the other side of Citrus Ave, according to Helen
Hopkins, a “colored lady who lived on 19” had a two story house across from the Wander Inn.65
63
Voter Registration Rolls Inverness 1880-1921, Citrus County Archives. These rolls were not complete county
records, but only for Inverness which was also designated “District 10.”
64
Wiles, “Way it Was.”
65
Most likely, the black woman’s business was to house transient black workers or the servants of wealthy whites
who traveled to the county for hunting and fishing. This was the practice in the 1920’s at the Homosassa Hotel.
45 Despite the development of black businesses, most blacks held service jobs for white
businesses or white households. Paternalism was ever present in this type of employment. The
most egregious, ironic, and laughable exemplification of the paternalistic, economic
discrimination that existed in the county’s culture was the Plantation Golf Course and Resort. In
1962, The Plantation was built off of HWY 19 in Crystal River. The owner determined the resort
and golf course staff would be staffed exclusively by blacks. They would wear period uniforms
to provide the allusion of enslaved black in the Antebellum South. A problem developed when
white home owners became unhappy over losing their maids to the new business. Whites
threatened to boycott the Plantation unless they changed their policy, and they told blacks who
considered leaving their job for the Plantation that they would not hire them back.66
Blacks came to Citrus County to work during the citrus and phosphate booms at the turn
of the 20th Century. Whites came earlier, but were by and large self sufficient, non slave owning
Crackers. Whites also arrived during the turn of the century for industrial work. Therefore
entrenched racial communities did not exist prior to the phosphate boom due to the mass influx
of whites and blacks to the area, yet the southern norm of white supremacy in government
yielded the upper hand to whites in all aspects of life. At the same time, whites and blacks shared
a common experience, one of agricultural and industrial survival, hoping to provide a better life
for themselves and their families. In this way, whites and blacks had to exist together, creating
common bonds which tempered the violent racism that existed in other parts of the state and
throughout the south.
There is evidence to show violent racism and intimidation in Citrus County. There is
more significant evidence to support discrimination in the county’s economy. Yet, the most
66
Wiles “Home.”
46 crippling discrimination came in the form of education. The county had severely unequal schools
between whites and blacks. Hand in hand with economic discrimination, educational
discrimination against blacks created generations of blacks who were unable to achieve a high
enough education to afford them the same employment opportunities as whites. However, the
county did prioritize economic growth, and that would prove to be the conduit for racial change.
47 CHAPTER 4
HISTORY OF BLACK SCHOOLS
In 1960, Jean Joyner, a student at Booker T Washington High School (BTW) won an
essay contest sponsored by the Florida Power Corporation, the electric company that had built a
coal plant and eventually a nuclear plant in Crystal River. Writing about what was important in a
community, Joyner believed that “community life depends largely upon good schools, churches,
economic activities, recreation, government, and welfare... Communities must satisfy the needs
of its people. Health, protection, education and religion are among the most important needs...
My community has a new department store, drug store, and invites people from other
communities to trade [with each other].” She continued by writing that her community needs
refrigeration to store food, city waters to homes to eliminate scavenger toilets, and more housing
to rent for growing families. “There are plenty of bad houses in my community,” she wrote.
Those houses don’t have windows or running water. She suggested those houses be repaired and
rented out to families.67
She concluded discussing her community’s schools, “Today most of our schools are
public and it is part of my community’s job to help furnish schools with the necessary equipment
for the future.” Her school needed more buildings, playground equipment, and a library
enlargement. Joyner’s observations were made over a decade after the Minimum Foundation
Program began and almost a decade before equality in education was achieved or legislated in
Citrus County. Joyner described a neglected, but vibrant community. Her examination of her
school explicitly demonstrated the inequality between whites and blacks, specifically in
education. Joyner also showed the type of student her community raised. She was forward 67
Jean Joyner, “Essay Winner ‘My Future and My Community’” Citrus County Chronicle June 9, 1960 page 6B.
48 thinking, civic-minded, and pragmatically-oriented. Her essay was a microcosm for the nature of
the black communities in Citrus County, specifically black schools. Public education was highly
important to most in the county, still black schools were neglected by the Citrus County Board of
Public Instruction (CCBPI). Not only was funding minimal from the school board, but Black
schools in the county were neglected in every area- books, buildings, personnel, and salaries.
Despite the treatment as second class citizens, for the black communities, education was
paramount for betterment. Parents saw education for their children as the means to a better life.
Teachers and students came from the same community and were tied together through their
school experience. Archie Dabney, a teacher and coach at BTW and then Crystal River High
commented, “school was like an extension of home. When the kids got on the school ground,
they had the same rules and discipline expected at their homes.”68
For nearly 100 years after Reconstruction, Florida schools steadily improved through the
infusion of federal and state dollars and oversight, specifically the Minimum Foundation
Program of 1947 (MFP).69 Until then, the school systems in Florida were run by their respective
county, autonomous from state or federal oversight, and segregated. School systems improved in
educational quality, but blacks were not afforded the same educational opportunities as whites,
as was the case in Citrus County. Post MFP, educational discrimination against blacks was more
apparent as black schools were systemically neglected. Despite educational neglect, the black
community provided valuable education for its students as well as fostering self reliance.
68
Joyner “Essay,’” 6B; Steve Arthur, “Recollections of Integration” Citrus County Chronicle, February 27, 2005
1C, 4C.
69
The MFP was a program enacted by the Florida Legislature to create uniformity in education across the state.
School districts were given state fund for building improvements and teacher training. In return, the state received
more oversight on how each county ran their school system. For further reading see DeWitt Everett Williams’ “A
brief review of growth and improvement of education for Negroes in Florida, 1927-1962.” (Atlanta: Southern
Education Foundation. 1963).
49 Segregation was ingrained in the Florida educational system from its inception. In 1865
the Florida Legislature passed “An Act Concerning the schools of Freedmen.” The goal was to
ensure education for blacks. By 1885 the new Florida constitution passed and with it, Article 12
which banned integrated education. In 1895, William N. Sheats helped pass a law prohibiting
integrated education in all schools, not just public. Until integration in the late 1960’s, black and
white schools were separate. In much of rural Florida, the schools developed similarly, except
black schools were severely underfunded. Prior to 1947, each county in Florida was autonomous
in its running of their schools. Predominantly rural, relying on agriculture for business and
subsistence living, the state lacked a deep tax base and disposable income to fund schools from
the state level. Each county funded its schools and governed them according to the state
constitution. School systems reflected the county’s attitudes towards education. Some counties
provided a myriad of schools. Other counties emphasized the need for child labor. The attitude of
the state residents was that education was necessary to read and write so people could function as
family men and fulfill duties as citizens. High schools were rare occurrences in rural areas. They
mostly existed in urban areas due to a larger tax base allowing for further education. In addition,
the education of someone beyond elementary school was considered a privilege rather than a
right. Therefore, most blacks and whites living in rural areas were not schooled beyond what was
necessary for sustained agricultural production.70
In 1887 Citrus County had a total of 33 schools with 1 designated as “colored.” By 1891
of the 33 schools, 3 were black. The change is likely due to the ever shifting population of
70
Williams 6-7, 10; For more reading on Sheats and his political and educational philosophy see Joe M
Richardson’s “The Nest of Vile Fanatics”: William N. Sheats and the Orange Park School, The Florida Historical
Quarterly Vol. 64, No. 4 (Apr., 1986) pp 393-406 and Arthur O. White’s “State Leadership and Black Education in
Florida, 1876-1976,” Phylon Vol. 42, No. 2 (2nd Qrt., 1981) 168-179. White describes Sheats as a stout
segregationist but also a strong proponent of black education who “worked hard to benefit blacks under the separate
but equal doctrine.”
50 enrolled students. Schools buildings were merely any structure that could be used for educational
purposes. In the same year, the county budgeted $6,254.20 for 34 teachers, 3 black. White
teachers earned on average $30 per month. By the turn of the 20th Century, Citrus County
instituted a five month school year. Schools were “one room, one teacher, and located wherever
and whenever there were enough students to warrant a school.” This flexibility allowed the
county to change as phosphate mining became the dominant labor industry and flooded the area
with transient workers. Workers brought their children and by 1901 the school system
consolidated buildings and increased the number of black schools by 3, bringing the total to 6.
Over the next two decades, the total number of schools in the county ebbed and flowed. As
population centers changed with the county’s economy, the number of schools did as well. For
example in 1907, Floral City was a phosphate mining town. Phosphate was a world wide
commodity at the time and the town’s population swelled. To accommodate the number of
students in the area, the city received approval from the school board for $1800 for a new school
house in 1907. However, in a trend that continued until the school integration in 1967, black
schools were denied funding or general necessities to create any sort of separate equality. Just a
year prior to Floral City’s approval for a new building, the CCBPI unanimously denied the black
school in the area the funding for a heater. By 1917 the county funded 19 total schools, but by
1926 the county had 30 schools, ten of which were black. In their continuance to improve and/or
change the school system in the county, the school board created standards for their schools and
students. Two semesters of 16 weeks each constituted a school year, and a student passed each
subject with a 75% or higher and could be exempt from semester end exams with a 90% or
higher. 71
71
Mays, 3-5, 9, 11.
51 It was not uncommon for Southern states to increase their involvement in county school
systems, particularly black education. In 1920, Florida undertook a program to improve black
education. It followed a pilot program set forth by Virginia in 1910. The Florida Department of
Education appointed J.H. Brinson as the State Superintendent of Negro Education.72
Progressively, the state was concerned with the nature of its school systems. In 1929, the state
ordered a report on black education. It stated, “Due to official neglect and little interest of the
whites in Negro Schools, Negro schools of the state as a whole are by no means a credit to the
state.” It found the average education for black teachers was approximately at an eighth grade
level. Thirty one of 64 counties had school terms of less than five months, and 22 of 64 had
school terms of less than 80 days. It concluded, “Equality of opportunity does not exist in
Florida, insofar as the Negroes are concerned.”73 This was a symptom of segregated systems as
well as the nature of the disparate school systems in Florida. It was also a symptom of the
economic condition the state fell into. Counties were unable to fund schools properly because a
real estate bubble burst in 1927 caused Florida to fall into the Great Depression before the rest of
the nation. In Citrus County, the early signs of economic depression were evident in 1928 when
outstanding bonds for new schools in Lecanto and Homosassa were at $75,000. In order to make
payroll for the annual budget, the school year for white schools was cut from eight months to
seven. Black schools were cut to three months, possibly four. On June 10, 1929, the Bank of
Crystal River failed and the Citrus County School Board had $8,831 in cash while maintaining a
debt of $29,500. Throughout the Depression, along with the rest of the county, the school district
received federal help with infrastructure programs, in particular the construction of school
buildings. In 1936, the Works Progress Administration rebuilt schools in Inverness, Crystal
72
73
Williams, 3.
Tomberlin, 15.
52 River, and Homosassa while building a new school in Floral City. In 1939 the WPA began a
school in Hernando.74 Comparatively, 85% of black schools in the US received direct federal aid
in the form of oil burning ranges for food preparation in school houses. Yet there is no evidence
of any of the black schools in Citrus County receiving aid. Booker T Washington had not yet
been consolidated, and no record is made of federal funding to the various black schools
throughout the county.75
The monetary restrictions continued through the entire 1930’s and into the 1940’s. The
school board continually borrowed money and sold bonds in order to meet payroll while slashing
the length of the school year to save on teachers’ salaries. In 1943 the board borrowed $6,500 to
pay teachers salaries. White teachers received a $10 per month pay raise bringing salaries
between $120-160. Meanwhile black teachers received a flat rate of $75 per month. Struggling
for enough money to meet the payroll, the board did not have any to update buildings. Until
1940, school buildings were still located in odd locations around the county in order to service
small pockets of concentrated populations. For example, the Island School in Ozello served a
handful of families. A teacher would be brought to the Island on Sunday night, teach all week,
and then leave the Island on Friday after the school day was over. These kinds of schools were in
desperate need of structural improvement. Many did not have indoor plumbing, relying on
cisterns to collect rain water or having outhouses for restrooms. 76
The state government intervened during the Depression with an increase in legislative
dollars allocated to schools. However, the autonomous nature of the counties created tension
between the state overseers and each school district regarding the way they spent the money the
74
Mays, 26, 28.
Williams, 40.
76
Mays 28.
75
53 state provided. More money meant more oversight, and the Department of Education increased
oversight personnel in 1927 from five people to twelve. The State Superintendent of Education
then expressed his desire to increase the availability and quality of education for blacks. He met
with every county superintendent asking each to improve their black schools. Many showed
indifference, but over time several expressed a desire to go to work at the Department of
Education to improve black schools. Consequently, the state employed a person to oversee
improvement in black schools state wide. The state continued its goal of improving overall
education and black education, in particular. It made use of the Rosenwald Fund and Jeanes
Foundation. The Rosenwald Fund came from Julius Rosenwald and was to be used for the
running and improving of black education. Communities had to raise money, and the county
would appropriate money to match the donations. The requirements were designed to spur
communities into action and involvement, in order to prevent the negative results of a handout.
Unfortunately, they limited the number of actual students affected by the funding. In Florida,
only 128 students benefitted from this philanthropy.77
The Jeanes Foundation provided enough money for states to help support and improve
rural black schools. The state used a “Jeanes Supervisor” to be a resource for teachers. They
would show teachers the best way to improve their institution and classroom through
bookkeeping items such recording attendance to facilitating communication between parents,
school, administration, and other community institutions. Eventually the Jeanes Supervisor was
discontinued in 1940 and replaced by state funded supervisors. Further, the Department of
Education began recruiting the best teachers from Florida A&M and Bethune Cookman to travel
the state and hold seminars for teacher training. Teachers were taught how to enroll students,
77
Williams 19-20. 54 how to finish 1st grade in one term, how to plan lessons, and encouraged teachers continue
education over the summer and in correspondence classes. This continued until 1947 when the
MFP mandated 10 days of teacher planning for each school district. Regardless of the limitations
imposed by segregation policies, the MFP was successful for black students in many ways. In
1927 enrollment for black students in Florida was at 6, 727 and increased more than ten times by
1960 to 70,458 students.78
In the post WWII period, Citrus County’s economy bounced back along with the
nation’s, the CCBPI paid off all debt, and the state instituted the MFP. The program brought
positive change to the blacks schools in the county, but it did not bring equality. In 1949, the
CCBPI consolidated black schools from six to two. One room school houses in South Dunnellon,
Floral City, and Hernando were removed from their locations and taken to Inverness as the main
school site for blacks in the county. The CCBPI called for “remodeling” and “constructing” a
new building used for toilets at the Inverness location. The total cost for the transition was $13,
854.79 It was a kindergarten through twelfth grade school. When the buildings were assembled,
the new school became known as Inverness Colored School or Inverness High School. It was the
complementary black school to the white school, Citrus High School. In April of 1950, the
CCBPI voted to change the name of the “Inverness Colored School” to “Booker T Washington.”
The name change did not occur until 1952 when “Nigger School” was painted in red on the
school’s sign. It became “Booker T. Washington” soon after. The school house in Crystal River
was left at its location because the black community in Crystal River was large enough to
support its own school, and traveling across the county was difficult and unlikely. The various
black schoolhouses around the west side of the county were closed, and students were directed to
78
79
Williams 8, 13, 24, 43.
CCBPI Minutes, Book 5, June 27, 1949.
55 the George Washington Carver School in Crystal River. White students attending high school in
Floral City were rezoned for Citrus High in Inverness. There were two white high schools and
two black high schools, but only for two years. The CCBPI eventually discontinued the black
high school in Crystal River and students who graduated eighth grade in Crystal River had to
continue at Booker T. Washington in Inverness or travel to Ocala to Howard Academy.80
The largest discrepancy between white and black schools was in the actual facilities
themselves. As the county schools aged, the buildings for whites were updated while the black
communities were given only little assistance by the school district and left to run their schools
with whatever means they could find. The lack of financial assistance allowed the black
community an attitude of complete ownership of the Carver School and BTW, but it left the
schools sorely underfunded. The original building for Carver was built in 1923, and was shared
with the Masonic Lodge directly off US HWY 19 near the Bethel AME church. However, it was
moved to a second location, across from the Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church. It was also
known as the “Community Center” as it housed various extracurricular events for the black
community in Crystal River. In its second incarnation, the school had received little
improvement. In 1955, a water fountain was installed but it still lacked indoor bathrooms. The
Citrus County School Board moved the school a final time, across US HWY 19 to 947 NE 6th
St, the location it stayed and eventually turned into Crystal River Primary School following
integration. This was a new building with indoor bathrooms and cafeteria. It had an asphalt
basketball court which was the main area of recreation for the students until playground
equipment was installed “much later.”81
80
81
CCBPI Minutes, Book 5, April 24, 1950; May 22, 1950; June 15, 1950.
Copeland 6, 9; Kirves 3. 56 BTW’s buildings were just the wooden school houses that had been moved from around
the county to a central location. Each small wooden building served a distinct purpose, and each
came equipped with a potbelly stove to provide heat during the winter months. The building
from Floral City was 20ft by 32.5ft and used as a cafeteria and a band room. The building to its
south was 20ft by 80ft 9 inches. It was from Dunnellon and served as an assembly hall,
classrooms, and at times hosted parties or prom. The building in the SW location was from
Hernando and was 26ft 5 inches by 46.5ft. The Hernando building had two rooms and functioned
as the elementary school. The last building, in the NW portion of the property was the Inverness
building. It was comprised of three rooms. Its total width was 53ft, but the length was broken
into several spaces. The total length was 50 ft 7 inches. The Inverness building was brought to
the new location from where it sat near “Cooter Pond” (named after an indigenous turtle) in
Inverness. It was a high school prior to the consolidation. The students referred to their high
school as “Cooter Pond High.” When the buildings were assembled, the only permanent block
structure was the restroom building on the far east of the school grounds.82
In January 1953, the board received a letter from several men in the black community
addressing the needs at Booker T Washington. Eli White, the apparent chairman of the BTW
PTA, requested classrooms, gym, cafeteria, auditorium, restrooms, and showers for both
elementary aged students and the high school students. The following meeting, two weeks later,
on January 26, White and Isaac J. Murphy presented the letter to the board. School board
member Flossie Bassett moved for a vote on the issue, Ernest Hat seconded. The board agreed to
pursue the improvements by presenting the State Survey Committee with improvements and
82
Booker T Washington: Elementary & High School, BTW Alumni Committee.
57 would use a license tag tax to pay for the school improvements.83 In October 1953, the board
agreed school improvements were needed and in November they passed a resolution to make the
improvements and began receiving bids for the improvements to elementary buildings at BTW.
In total, the district had $296,000 for school improvements throughout the county.84
They listed each improvement needed and designated “W” for white schools and “N” for
“Negro” or black schools. BTW Elementary was approved for $50,000 for five new classrooms;
and $45,000 for a cafetorium, showers, dressing rooms, and central heat. At the bottom of the
priority list was the BTW High School Gymnasium appraised at $35,000, $20,000 less than each
gym approved for the white high schools. Further, the board agreed to use the $100,000 in state
funds for black school improvements, but would use the remaining funds, from local coffers, for
the white schools. The new buildings were constructed south of the original Hernando and
Dunnellon buildings. They consisted of six classrooms, one office, and two restrooms. 85
Construction had not started yet by the end of the January 1954. The board was still
taking bids and in debate over whether to use someone local in order to support local business
despite a potential higher cost or to use the absolute lowest bidder. Two local bidders, Felix
Schneider of Yankeetown and Concrete Products Company of Inverness, each submitted bids
between $59,000 and $60,000. Duncan and Duncan of Ocala bid $10,000 less at $50,000 for
construction of a six room school house for BTW Elementary. Meanwhile, the Carver School
was being eyed for improvements as well. Plans went to the State Board of Education in July of
1954 for approval. BTW’s classrooms were ready by fall 1954 and they were dedicated by the
Mayor of Inverness, the county superintendent, and Reverend Morris C. Brown of Mt Olive
83
CCBPI Minutes, Book 5, January 14, 1953; January 26, 1953.
CCBPI Minutes, Book 5, October 17, 1953. 85
CCBPI Minutes, Book 5, November 23, 1953; November 25, 1953; Kirves 5.
84
58 AME in Dunnellon. On the same day, the promise for further expansion was given as Felix
Schneider won the bid for the cafeteria and auditorium at BTW. Schneider promised to have the
buildings completed in 80 working days for only $29,933. The board recognized the need for
dressing rooms, showers, heating and hot water. The cost for those improvements would total
between $12,000-13,000. The same CCBPI improvement list in 1953 noted that Citrus High
School and Crystal River High School needed new gymnasiums. The cost was $110,000, and
contracts were to be filled by January 1, 1955 of the following year, according to County
Superintendent Roger Weaver. The gyms were to include showers, dressing rooms, and offices.
Weaver told the public the money would be there since it was coming from the Department of
Education money allocated earlier in the year. There were concerns about the need for classroom
expansion in the next two years, and Weaver promised the money would be there as well. The
board received funding from special legislation to the tune of $100,000 for construction. By 1956
the white schools had their gyms constructed yet BTW never received theirs. So the black
community added metal walls and a heater to the blacktop basketball facility they had built so
they could play home games throughout the winter.86
Nearly ten years after the major structural renovations were addressed, in May 1963, the
Chronicle highlighted BTW’s need for one new classroom, music room, homemaking room,
restrooms, library, two secondary classrooms, and the gym that was placed on the priority list in
1953. Total cost for improvements was $261,550. In July of 1963, BTW High was approved for
two classrooms, a music room, the homemaking room, a restroom, and a library. The board
stated they would improve on a need base situation but would not integrate. For example, in
86
New School to coast about $9,000 More than the Estimated”, Citrus County Chronicle, Page 1 January 28, 1954;
Citrus County Chronicle, July 8, 1954, Page 6; “Colored School to be Dedicated” Citrus County Chronicle,
September 30, 1954, page 2.; “Schneider Wins School Contract; Bids $29,933” Citrus County Chronicle,
September 30, 1954, page 1.; “Estimated coast of 2 Buildings put at $110,000” Citrus County Chronicle, September
1, 1954, page 1.; CCBPI Minutes, Book 5, March 23, 1953; Kirves 3-4.
59 August 1963, the board considered an improvement to the sewage system for BTW in order to
bring plumbing facilities to sanitary and appropriate standards, but integration was not on the
table. Clearly, compared to their white counterparts, the black schools in Citrus County were
treated inferiorly. The nature of the need improvements to BTW or Carver would have never
been allowed at Crystal River Elementary or Citrus High. At this point, Citrus County
maintained their separate and obviously unequal policy, yet change was on the horizon.87
Despite the discrimination, the black communities rallied around one another and
provided a good education for their children. Carver saw a number of principals through its time.
Records leave gaps as to who served and when, and there are contradictory records. However,
most of the records are clear for a majority of the years. From its inception until 1936, Mayme
Mobley served as principal; Emmanuel Stewart, 1937-1938 and 1940-1941; Frederick Copeland,
1946-1948; Matthew Bryant, 1948-1951; Mamie McNeal 1951-1952; Frederick Copeland 19521961; McHill88 1961; Annie McCray 1961-1965; William Robinson 1965 until integration.
Discrepancy arises about Copeland’s tenure. Newspaper accounts have listed Copeland as the
principal prior to 1941, before he left to join the military and assuming his post upon return in
1946. Most likely, Copeland was a teacher prior to the war, and returned in 1946 when he
became principal. Then again in 1948, Copeland left, this time for a leave of absence to attend
FAMU. When he returned in 1952, he retook his position as principal.89
Daily life at Carver was limited in many aspects. First, the school year was half that of
the white schools. The county only paid teachers for four months of teaching. The school year
87
Nancy Webb, “Bulging schools create unexpected expansion needs,” Citrus County Chronicle, May 30, 1963 1A;
CCBPI Book 5, July 25, 1963; August 24, 1963; February 25, 1964.
88
First name unknown 89
Copeland 9-12; Nancy Kennedy, “Copeland Park’s Namesake Dies” Citrus County Chronicle November 4, 2009,
Page A1; “Opinion: A Man Who Made a Difference” Citrus County Chronicle November 11, 2009
www.chronicleonline.com/content/issue-11062009-frederick-copeland.
60 was expanded twice; to six months and eight months. Eventually, the Citrus County School
Board paid teachers for the full eight months of work. Prior to the expansion of payment, the
community held fund raisers to cover the cost of teaching for the months not paid by the county.
Text books and school supplies, even desks, were hand-me-downs from white schools in the
area. At times, the text books were missing pages. In these circumstances, teachers would have
students switch books, pairing students together who had pages with others who did not.90
Teachers were required to feed students lunch (it was not uncommon for teachers to provide
breakfast, too). Teachers would typically make stews consisting of vegetables, rice, and beef or
pork. They would place it on the stove in the back of the classroom, and as they taught a student
was assigned to check on the food throughout the morning. Students also brought lunch from
home. They would bring whatever was grown in their gardens or maybe something left over
from the previous night. Annie McCray, educated at Howard Academy and then at FAMU,
returned to Crystal River to teach at Carver. McCray, according to formal pupil and eventual
colleague, Betty Jackson said “If the children were hungry, she would get them fed,” even if it
were breakfast. McCray continued to teach in Crystal River until 1995.91
Education was holistic at Carver. Teachers were charged with educating in every aspect
of life. In addition to intellectual development, teachers taught social, physical, behavioral, and
spiritual development. During Mayme Mobley’s time as principal of the school, in the 1930’s,
each morning students recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang America the Beautiful along
with morning devotions from the Bible. Fridays were for chapel and fish days. Girls were
required to wear a ribbon in their hair, and boys a bow tie. If either forgot then they had to
fashion one from toilet tissue or crepe paper. In chapel, students were required to speak, sing, or
90
91
Copeland 7.
Shemir Wiles, Citrus County Chronicle, “A Lifetime of Sacrafices”. A1.
61 play an instrument in front of the teachers and students. McCray demanded perfection from her
students academically, but she also required them to be well mannered. Education was more than
gaining intellect; it was a way to instill value in the next generation. If nervous, teachers would
provide anxiety remedies to help. Disciplinary techniques provided focus as well. Once,
Principal Fred Copeland was trying to teach geography to a group of unruly students. He told
them, “It’s either map time or strap time- you can choose the time.” Copeland provided the
discipline for the school, and he also propelled the school into the county’s eye as part of the
overall community. For example, he organized the school’s participation in the annual May Day
parade the county put on in Inverness. One year, in particular, the school adopted an international
theme, and students would dress as citizens of other cultures and countries from around the
world.92
On the east side of the county BTW acted as an integral part of the black community,
providing opportunity for personal and academic success. M.A. Bryant Jr. had the honor of
serving as BTW’s first principal. The school had ten other faculty members, and enrollment
averaged 238 students during his five year tenure, from 1949-1954. Over the next eight years, the
school grew to an average attendance of 294 students and 16 faculty members under the
leadership of Alfred Taylor. For the last seven years of the segregated period (1962-1968), the
school had 342 students, eighteen faculty members, and the principal was Joseph Green.93 The
transition from local community schools to centrally located schools was difficult. Students were
farther from home, teachers were too. Distance was an issue, but transportation, or lack thereof,
exacerbated the distance between home and school. Students from Floral City, Hernando, South
92
Copeland 15; Helen Matchett Rushing, Citrus County Chronicle “Memories of Grandma and Buck Rah,” March
22, 1998, 1C, 4C.
93
Booker T. Washington Elementary & High School, (Self published August 24, 2010), 1; Ron Kirves, “Booker T.
Washington has proud history,” Citrus County Chronicle, 1A, 4C.
62 Dunnellon, or any high school students from Crystal River had travel to Inverness for school.
Many, without family transportation had a long bus ride to Inverness. A tenth grade student, Don
Watkins, from Crystal River drove the school bus and picked up students across the entire
county.94 He started at 6:15AM and picked up students on the west coast of the county, in Red
Level and Rock Crusher. He then made his way west to Floral City and back to Inverness. It was
a 60 mile trip in the morning and a 60 mile trip in the afternoon. Driving the bus and a full day of
school could last up to 10 hours.95
This level of commitment to education was seen among black families throughout the
county. Education was their way to better themselves, and to increase opportunities for success.
Education benefitted the entire community, not just the children. BTW offered adult education
classes at night so black adults in Citrus County could attend and get their high school diploma.
In 1960, a 36 year old mother, Freddie Lee Simmons, and her 18 year old son graduated from
BTW. Simmons was born in Crystal River and attended schools in Hernando every other year,
but she moved to St Petersburg and dropped out of school as a sophomore. She returned to
Hernando with her husband and began taking night classes. Eventually, Simmons finished her
course work and received a diploma. In the same graduating class, Irene and Robert James
graduated two years after the last of their four children matriculated through BTW.96 Simmons
and her son are an example of the relationship of the school to the black community. It was a
place of betterment. Simmons’ experience was unique, whereas most student matriculated
through the school with little fanfare and much success. However, the Citrus County Chronicle
neglected publishing the graduates of BTW while they published full pages of senior portraits for
94
Watkins was also the first class president, serving from 1949-1951.
“Separate, but far from equal” Wiles, Shemir. Citrus County Chronicle. February 8, 2010.
96
“Mother and Son Graduate from BTW HIGH” Spires, RM. Citrus County Chronicle. May 1960.
95
63 both Crystal River High School and Citrus High School. BTW did announce its honor roll
quarterly, as did other local schools. What was not representative of the Chronicle’s coverage
was its treatment of BTW athletics. The Hornets did not entertain a reporter at their games but
had to phone in their accounts. As early as 1954, the Hornets experienced success on the football
field. In the December 16, 1954, edition, the Hornets and “Pops” Twiggs were covered for a
victory and a four touchdown game.97
Alfred Taylor introduced athletic teams during the 1951-52 school year. Archie Dabney
eventually coached the football team in 1956. Dabney soon became successful with his style of
play nicknamed the “Dabney Shuffle.” Dabney’s success was noted from 1956 until integration
in 1968. In addition to football, he was the head basketball coach and track coach. Under his
leadership, the Hornets won a state title in each sport as well as nine district titles in basketball.
Looking back on his tenure, Dabney discussing his basketball team commented, “No, we
couldn’t play against the white schools, but if we could have, we would have beat them.”98 By
1964, the Hornets received recognition for their success. The Chronicle plastered a picture of
wide receiver Dennis Parker catching a pass over a Wachula defender. The article said it was the
best season for the Hornets for gate receipts and attendance. Their game was appreciated in the
county, and it was completely acceptable for whites to attend the games and watch the Hornets
play on Thursday nights. Additionally, three athletes from the BTW team were offered
scholarships to play football in college. The following year, Dabney’s teams were highlighted
again. This time, it was for his basketball success. The Chronicle printed a spread on Dabney,
including two pictures of him in his classroom and two articles. The first, “BTW Boys Offered
97
“BTW High School Ends Grid Season” Citrus County Chronicle December 16, 1954. Page 10.
Booker T. Washington Elementary & High School, (Self published August 24, 2010), 5; Steve Arthur,
“Recollections of Integration” Citrus County Chronicle February 2, 2005 1C, 4C.
98
64 Five Scholarships,” and the second “Booker T’s Coach of the Year Casts a Tall Shadow,” in
reference to Dabney’s 6’3 frame. The article called Dabney a “quiet, soft spoken, yet confident
young coach.” The description was fitting, because Dabney was all it said, but it is hard not to
read them without a jaundiced eye. They are the same qualities the white community wanted the
black community to espouse so as to stay in their place. Nonetheless, Dabney was a successful
coach, and a respected man. During the integration period, Dabney’s qualities made him a leader
in both black and white communities; a bridge between each allowing for a peaceful transition
when it could have been tumultuous.99
Aside from athletics, the BTW student life was vibrant. The school wanted to start a band
in 1954. The PTA held a meeting at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church to find ways to fundraise, part of
it was announcing it in the Chronicle. The PTA scheduled several exhibition boxing matches to
raise money. The bouts were “open to the public” which was a euphemism for open to both black
and white communities. The money from the bouts paid for new instruments for the students.
Instrument donations were also given to the school from both white and black communities.
Later in the year, BTW organized a grocery drive for needy families in the area. It was organized
around the Homecoming game, and most likely was part of the weekly festivities, which
included a charity drive. Faculty and students gathered groceries and organized six baskets to be
given out to selected families. The students were able to choose the families they deemed most
worthy from the Floral City, Inverness, Homosassa, South Dunnellon, and Crystal River
communities. The nature of this event should not be viewed without context.100 The black
99
“BTW Boys Offered Five Scholarships” Citrus County Chronicle January 21, 1965 Page 9; “Booker T’s Coach of
the Year Casts Tall Shawdow” Citrus County Chronicle January 21, 1965 Page 9.
100
“Band wanted for BTW High School” Citrus County Chronicle September 9, 1954; “Band in sight for WHS
Pupils” Citrus County Chronicle October 14, 1954; “Washington High to Have Boxing Bouts” Citrus County
Chronicle October 28, 1954 Page 4; “BTW Students Send Baskets to Needy” Citrus County Chronicle December 2,
1954 page 5.
65 communities, and many in the white communities, of Citrus County could use the help.
December often brings a charitable spirit in communities, but finding extra groceries at that time
may not have been an easy task. To initiate a drive like that showed the values the school, and de
facto the black communities of Citrus County held dear. As an added highlight to the above, a
year later, BTW held their annual Homecoming parade and game. The Hornets hosted Fessenden
Academy of Ocala. Their parade weaved through downtown Inverness, along Main Street,
Apopka, and eventually in front of the Valerie Theater. Barbara Rae Chester, the Homecoming
Queen said she was determined as queen to lead as the school raised the money the Hornets
needed to pay the debt they incurred purchasing their athletic gear.101 Seemingly ever behind in
funding, the students of BTW were set on raising funds and helping others in need. BTW was a
safe place for blacks, a place where autonomy was exercised, and it was integral to keeping the
black communities in Citrus County connected. It was “a nexus for black communities of South
Dunnellon, Holder, Hernando, Floral City, and even Crystal River.”102
The black community created a robust, vibrant educational experience for their children
despite unfair treatment. The black schools were a pillar of the black community that produced
many personal, academic, and athletic successes. Though those in the black community knew
their treatment was unfair, it was not an excuse to not vigorously pursue betterment through
education and hard work. They did not have the political clout to affect a lasting change, but by
1964, the federal government would become directly involved in the county’s educational
system.
101
102
“BTW Homecoming Observed Today” Citrus County Chronicle November 11, 1955.
Steve Arthur, “Recollections of Integration” Citrus County Chronicle February 27, 2005 1C, 4C.
66 CHAPTER 5
INTEGRATION
“FAMOUS FOR schools, hunting, fishing, fruits, sports” read the back of the official
Citrus County letterhead in 1960. The words flanked a county map centered on the page. Each
word was represented by an illustration somewhere else on the page. The largest of these was a
school house at the bottom where “A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE” was emblazoned just beneath it.
The county was proud of what it had accomplished and the identity it had achieved.
Citrus County was founded and developed on an attitude of self reliance and Southern
conservatism. This attitude bred an aversion to outside influence while maintaining the social
status quo. The county struggled with its identity through many different economic booms and
busts, yet it persevered on with resolve and self reliance. Despite gaining popularity from outside
visitors, like tourists and seasonal residents, its social and cultural mores from its early history
lingered. A soft systemic racism through economics, education, and segregation relegated blacks
to second class citizenship. Following WWII it entered an era of relative peace and economic
stability as it found an identity in its tourism and its school system, only to be challenged once
again by its own changing demographics and the nation’s cultural values. The county’s racism,
specifically segregation, was challenged when the federal government mandated the integration
of the county school system.103 For Citrus County, integration came after many fits and starts,
but it came quietly and smoothly. Long brewing changes in federal and state policies saw
enforcement following the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Leadership at the state level, starting with
Governor Leroy Collins, and then again at the county level guided Citrus County through a
103
For a more thorough explanation of the Florida’s response to integration around the South see Thomas R. Wagy,
“Governor Leroy Collins of Florida and the Little Rock Crisis of 1957,” The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol.
38, No. 2 (Summer, 1979), 99-115. Wagy explains that Floridians opposed violence but feared change, which led to
a “fruitless” decade regarding progress in school integration.
67 tumultuous period, by the standards of other locales around the South. Local leadership added to
a voice of reason and understanding, and Citrus County moved from a segregated rural
community in West Central Florida to a fully integrated, rapidly growing service based
community. Yet, the bonds forged in the tight knit black communities were challenged, and the
integration of the county left a bittersweet taste. The promise of equality was realized, but it
came at the cost of communal bonds.
Brown v Board of Education (1954) was a watershed moment in Florida as it was in all
segregated states. Florida’s initial reaction was “mild,” according to Joseph A. Tomberlin.104 The
Florida leadership, specifically State Superintendent Thomas D. Bailey, urged a slow integration
to ensure compliance with federal standards, but more importantly, to allow local school districts
to integrate at their own pace, but did not respond with the same degree of disdain for the ruling
as other Southern leaders. During this time, Florida saw three governors from 1953-1955, Dan
McCarty, Charley Johns, and LeRoy Collins. Collins led the state through the integration process
as a proponent of New South ideals. He committed to the Supreme Court’s decision, but was also
accepted as a Southern Democrat to not force integration on a state more quickly than they could
handle. Yet, his legislature was at odds with him. In 1955, the legislature passed a pupil
assignment bill giving school boards the power to place students in any school they saw fit,
which in essence will still allow for segregation. He did have a like minded State Attorney
General. Richard W. Ervin wrote and submitted an amicus curia brief suggesting the justices
consider local problems and attitudes in devising a desegregation plan. In 1957, Collins faced
eight bills raised to maintain segregation. When Collins vetoed the bills, the Senate passed nonbinding resolutions declaring their intent to preserve segregation. To boot, State Senators Hugh
104
Joseph A. Tomberlin, “Florida Whites and the Brown Decision of 1954,” The Florida Historical Quarterly, 51
(1972) 23.
68 Dukes and John H. Shipp of Jackson County sent copies of the resolutions to the US Senate, US
House of Representatives, and their respective members from other Southern states. Still, Collins
committed to the idea that Americans “would respect a southerner who dealt with the race issue
in a calm, lawful, courageous manner.”105
From the Brown decision forward, the school board in Citrus County saw the writing on
the wall and initially resisted the change. Black schools were renovated or updated in 1953.
Undoubtedly they were updated in response to the ruling against separate but equal. On June 3,
1954, the Chronicle ran an article stating that, “the board has decided to go ahead despite U.S.
Supreme Court decision against segregation of the races.” Superintendent Roger Weaver added,
“In this county I don’t think we will have one bit of trouble.” The paper also reported that,
“Chairman of the board, H.L. Connell said as a result of talks with several colored teachers and
other colored citizens, he believed matters would run smoothly here.” Another example of the
board’s desire to maintain segregation was its desire to acquire a Junior College. An integrated
facility was not given a second thought by the CCBPI. On December 17, 1956, CCBPI expressed
interest in bringing a junior college to the county for students who did not go to four year schools
or who needed technical training. In July the following year, Marion County was awarded a
junior college for the surrounding area. In February 1958, the school board passed a resolution
asking the state for another Junior College to be built in Ocala, a “Negro Junior College.” It was
to be a separate facility than the junior college already commissioned. Both Junior Colleges
105
Joseph A. Tomberlin, “The Negro and Florida’s system of Education: The Aftermath of the Brown Case (PhD
diss. Florida State University, 1967) 40-42, 143, 168, 176; Wagy “Collins” 108. Wagy gives a portrait of Collins’
character and political savvy guide to Florida through integration and separate itself from other Old South states in
the region.; Joseph A. Tomberlin, “Florida and the School Desegregation Issue, 1954-1959,” The Journal of Negro
Education, 43 (1974) 460.; Series 226, Box 5 Ralph E Odum, Asst. Attorney General“Review of Public School
Segregation in Florida in May 1944-- May 1960” 6, 21.
69 satisfied the county’s needs for technical education. Blacks in Citrus County would commute to
Ocala rather than attend the Junior College in Citrus County.106
While Florida stalled, the Federal government responded with swift integration in schools
on Eglin and Tyndall Air Force bases. It was clear the government would integrate where they
had power, however Florida school districts delayed. Finally by 1964 the U.S. Congress passed
the Civil Rights Act which changed the level of enforcement that could be imposed on
noncompliant school districts. By the 1965-1966 school year schools had to have 51%
integration. In 1967 the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare took over the process. A
heavy fine would be levied on any district that failed to comply to federal standards. Citrus
County could not afford the penalty. They had to acquiesce.107
The state was initiated towards integration under the leadership of Governor Collins.
Counties were given directions but too much leeway, and they were actively delaying. For Citrus
County, integration was not immediate; in fact, it took almost fifteen years from Brown. Like
other counties, Citrus County hemmed and hawed trying to appease the state and federal
government until it could not afford not to act. It was a gradual process that started when the
CCBPI tried to improve black schools following the Brown decision to prove separate but equal.
This status quo continued until 1965. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 added teeth to the landmark
court case a decade prior. Now, the Citrus County school board faced legal action by the federal
government if they did not integrate their school system. The threat of financial penalty was
enough to tip the scales for the school board. Still, they managed a brief protest, “The Citrus
County School Board – in good faith - cannot sign Form 441.” Form 441 was the federal
government’s compliance form which promised an integrated school system and each district
106
107
Board Okays Plans for a school and County Gymnasiums” Citrus County Chronicle June 3, 1954; Mays 34.
Tomberlin, “Aftermath of Brown” 152, 269.
70 had to outline its process in doing so. However, if the board did not follow the government’s
demands they would lose between $40,000 -50,000 in federal funding. In their resolution, the
board stated, “It was a matter of desegregate ‘or else’ that brought the Citrus County Board of
Public Instruction to their decision to bring to an end to separate but equal facilities in the system
here.” Losing funding would have created a terrible burden on the school system, and some
residents said they would rather close the schools than integrate. But that was the voice of a
small number of old time county folks. Another undesirable specter looming over the school
board was a forced integration via federal court order. Faced with losing funds, forced
integration, and potential national media attention for obstinacy or closing their schools the
CCBPI voted unanimously to create a Freedom of Choice plan. But, the board was defiant in its
tone, “forced integration imposed on the county by the Federal Government through the 1964
Civil Rights Legislation.”108
The initial plan adopted by the board was for parents of students in grades 1, 2, and 3 to
have a choice to send their students to any school either black or white. Each year following for
the next three years, the county would add the successive three grades until the full system was
integrated. However, the board reserved the right to have overall say of transfer “if they deem it
a satisfactory move.” In order to show good faith in their integration attempts, the county
pledged to desegregate teachers as well. They would hire new teachers and place present
teachers on the basis of ability and need. The deadline for agreeing to terms with the federal
government’s mandate was March 3, 1965. The CCBPI sent a registered letter to the Department
of Education in Washington DC on March 2, 1965. The Freedom of Choice plan would allow
each school to be open to all races at every other grade level starting with the first grade.
108
Mays 35; “County Adopts Freedom of Choice Plan for School Desegregation Here” Citrus County Chronicle,
March 4, 1965, Page 1; “County Adopts Freedom of Choice…” Citrus County Chronicle, March 4, 1965, Page 1
71 Students would choose the school they wanted to attend as long as it was the closest school to
them or if the school did not offer a program another school offered that the student wanted to
participate in. In order to update school buildings and prepare for the needs of a larger student
body, the CCBPI made plans for a new elementary school and high school in Crystal River and
allocated funds for a local vocational school as well.109
In May 1965, board members Betty Williams, Dave Anderson, Walter Bunts, and Horace
Allen were told their plans had been approved. However,Francis Kappel, U.S. Commissioner of
Education, rejected the CCBPI plans in August 1965, weeks prior to the start of the school year.
County Superintendent James McCall complained to the Chronicle, “They gave us a song and
dance, but this is the way it is going to be,” referring to a meeting he had with Kappel in D.C.
Upon being informed their plans were denied, the board asked for a written continuance but
never received it. They created a new plan which called for kindergarten, 1,7, 9, and 12 grades to
be given freedom of choice. The goal was to integrate students at the transitional grades at first,
and the inclusion of the 12 grade was so students leaving the school system would have at least
one experience with integration prior to joining the society at large. The stakes were higher for
the board, now. Their penalty had doubled since the original mandate to integrate. It now stood
at a potential loss of $100,000 per year for maintaining a segregated school system. Further
suggestions from the plan were for teachers to not have to submit any racial identification on
their applications, they had to be able to work in an integrated environment, and “Pioneer
Teachers” would be developed. Pioneer Teachers were teachers who would periodically
109
“County Adopts Freedom of Choice Plan” Citrus County Chronicle, March 4, 1965, Page 1; Mays 36.
72 exchange classrooms in the 1965-66 school year. However, not all of these suggestions would be
immediately included into the integration plan.110
The slow walk towards “desegregation,” as the board called it, continued as the board and
federal government ironed out the details of the plan. In January of 1966, Superintendent McCall
suggested the board attend a conference at the University of Miami on school integration in
March. The board did not attend the meeting; however McCall attended another meeting on the
same date in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the subsequent CCBPI meeting, McCall discussed that
meeting and informed the board they had to follow the federal form, 441-B, and federal
guidelines. The form needed to be filled out and returned by April 15, 1966. Letters detailing the
new school choice program were to be mailed out to all Citrus County families of prospective
students by April 1, 1966. The CCBPI continued scheduled meetings through the Spring of 1966
and made plans for the upcoming fall semester. Due to the looming deadline in April, the March
30 CCBPI meeting was the landmark meeting where the board adopted the “Desegregation
Plan.” Letters were sent out the following two days to parents explaining the process and asking
the parents to choose where their children would attend in the fall. The board agreed to integrate
grades 1, 7, 9, and 12. All schools would stay open and course offerings of Carver School and
BTW would be published in the Chronicle so parents could determine the best place for their
children to attend. The board also agreed to allow grades 3-6 to be integrated if a course or
program was offered elsewhere or a sibling was in a grade that was being integrated.111
Integration began in January of 1967, but the end date for complete integration was not
yet set. Former Superintendent Roger Weaver regained his post from James McCall on July 10,
110
Bill Land. “New School Mix Demands Refused as Fall Terms Nears” Citrus County Chronicle August 26, 1965,
1.
111
CCBPI Minutes, January 25, 1966; CCBPI Minutes, March 4, 1966; CCBPI, March 24, 1966; CCBPI Minutes,
March 30, 1966.
73 1968. He encouraged and recommended complete integration by 1969. Spurring this effort was
the very powerful influence of the federal government. Civil Rights Education Chief, L.R.
Henderson, explained to Weaver, “non-compliance procedures will be initiated” if complete
integration did not occur. The financial penalty was upped, and the Citrus County school district
faced a loss of $250,000. The penalty would have disrupted the school district drastically, and it
was profoundly important to not lose that money because of the vision the superintendent had
set. James McCall wrote Dr. Charles E. Chick, the Executive Director of School Administration
for Florida, making him aware and requesting the funding for expansion of the county’s school
buildings. McCall stated the desire to build three new schools (obviously for integration
preparations as well as preparing for the population influx), a vocational school, a marine science
laboratory, and an administration building. The future plans of the county’s schools hung in the
balance of their desire to integrate and/or ability to satisfy the integration requirements set forth
by the federal government.112
Along with the full integration of the school system at each grade, fully in faculty, and
administration, more requirements needed to be met. Such requirements were the placing of
white teachers in the historically black schools and the elimination of identification of black
schools. Debate continued as to when and in what semester in 1969 should the integration be
complete: the Spring or Fall semester? Weaver recommended complete integration along all
grade levels in Crystal River by January 1969. Booker T Washington, the larger of the two black
schools, would not be integrated until August 1969. The board voted down the idea of
integrating (and effectively closing both black schools) the same semester of the same school
112
“School Board Ponders Integration” Citrus County Chronicle, August 15, 1968; Series 306, Box 2, FF19, Letter
to Dr Charles E Chick, Executive Director of School Administration for Florida Citrus County from Superintendent
James McCall. April 18, 1967.
74 year.113 The reasoning behind keeping one school effectively segregated over the other was
because in theory all schools were open and free to attend. However, the black community in
Inverness preferred keeping their children in a school where they had complete autonomy over
rather than sending them to a school that was predominantly white. The potential fear of the
unknown, of losing their identity as a community, and the loss of familiarity among teachers,
students, and administration were all reasons the black community was not ready to give up their
unique history. However, the advantages of attending a well funded school and the equality
achieved in the way of equal opportunity were the overall goals of integration.114
The integration process went rather smoothly. It was met with an anticlimactic attitude
from the county as a whole. The Chronicle proclaimed “it was about time” for the county to have
done this. All the build up to it: the resistance, potential loss of funding, agreements at the
deadline, plans, rejecting of plans, and school modifications overshadowed the time when
students walked into classrooms together. There were a few minor incidents but they did not mar
the progress obtained. Students would skirmish throughout the year, some from the bubbling
over of racial tensions. However none of the fights were more than high school boys being high
school boys. The CCBPI saw it necessary to host a town hall on racial issues and to create a
dialogue in the community. They appointed Citrus County Deputy Charlie Dean as an early
incarnation of a school resource officer to deal with discipline issues that might come up because
of racial tensions.115
Carver school became Crystal River Primary. It was a new building standing on the
grounds of the old Carver school. Crystal River Elementary stayed open through the integration
113
“School Board Ponders Integration” Citrus County Chronicle, August 15, 1968; Mays 41; CCBPI, August 19,
1968.
114
John Grannan. Interview with author. May 13, 2010. Interview in possession of the author.
115
Mays 42; Denny Allen. Interview with author. June 22, 2010. Interview in possession of the author.
75 transition and then became Crystal River Middle School. The new primary school served two
purposes. It allowed white and black students the opportunity to attend a new elementary school
together. It also prepared Crystal River for its growing population by expanding the number of
elementary classrooms in Crystal River. The plan was carried out; black students from Crystal
River began attending CRHS while most blacks in Inverness stayed at Booker T Washington
until the final phase was complete. Blacks started participating in athletics in every sport. The
teams were covered in the Chronicle as they had been before, and instead of all white teams
making the front page, blacks and whites were shown playing together on the same field or court.
The Chronicle had a tradition of running the graduating classes of each high school. The white
schools received entire pages devoted to their senior with pages filled with their senior portraits.
BTW had their names run in a separate column. Following the freedom of choice plan, blacks
had their senior portraits included for the first time. 116 Previously, the Chronicle’s practice was
to only run the names of BTW graduates or highlight their superlatives in its year-end issue. For
example, the Chronicle ran an article covering achievements by county members and it included
the state championships achieved by the BTW football team and the scholarships a handful of
athletes received from FAMU. In one editorial, the editor wrote about how accomplished the
students of the “colored schools” were. Following integration, the black community steadily
received more attention by the Chronicle for daily activities rather than merely the sensational.
Within a year of complete integration, blacks were not only students or teachers, but they were
included in administration and the development of the new Withlacoochee Technological
Institute. 117
116
Mays 36; See Citrus County Chronicle 1969 editions.
Citrus County Chronicle May 23, 1963; “222 Negro Grads Since First Diplomas Presented in 1949” Citrus
County Chronicle July 9, 1964, 6-B.
117
76 However, the transition was difficult for some in the black community. When the
freedom of choice plan opened in 1967, black students from Crystal River began attending
Crystal River High rather than bus to Inverness to attend BTW. Many black students in Inverness
continued at BTW until the completion of the integration process in 1969. The black schools in
their respective areas acted as a second home. Blacks were given autonomy over their schools;
something they did not experienced in other areas of the county. The school was a safe place,
much like the home and church. It acted as a pillar of the community, so losing that pillar was
difficult. Don Sawyer of Dunnellon attended BTW and recalled, “We had our proms. We had our
homecoming and homecoming queens. We lost all that.” The concerns ranged anywhere from
social circle problems to athletics. Parents and students feared their representation would be
drowned out in clubs like cheerleading and on athletic teams. Where once in their previous
school, black students did not have to worry about being the minority, in their new school the
dynamics had changed. Archie Dabney recalled, “Communities in the towns lost connection
because they didn’t have to pull together.” The positives of integration outweighed the negatives,
but the good did not come without a cost, “Those who remember its role in connecting individual
black communities within the county say that its transformation as an integrated school in 1968
helped splinter what was once a vibrant countywide community.”118
Yet, the promise of equally funded education-- and more importantly equality under the
law-- was strong enough to promote the transition. Additionally, the new school buildings built
in Crystal River (Primary and High) and the new middle school in Inverness added a sense of
renewal. A fresh start could be had between races-- students, teachers, and administrators. Blacks
and whites had the opportunity to move into a new place together rather than move to a place one
118
“Recollections of Integration” Citrus County Chronicle February 27, 2005 1C, 4C. 77 group had previously inhabited. By the following school year, blacks accompanied whites on the
front page of the Chronicle in shots of local football games and profiles of the cheerleading
squad.119
Integration was not met with violence or organized protest but there were problems at the
personal level between the parents, teachers, and administrators. The county’s efforts to integrate
teachers were met with resistance. Despite the distraction of the teacher’s strike in 1968, some
white parents did not think that black teachers were capable of teaching their children. M.H.
Holman, in a letter to State Superintendent, Floyd T. Christian, complained of the county’s poor
usage of funds, but also of its use of unaccredited teachers. She questioned the competence of a
“negro” teacher. She claimed to be in favor of integration, but believed that there were better
black teachers available. Holman’s motives are unavailable, and maybe she just wanted her voice
heard. She claimed to fear local backlash of her small business for speaking out against
integration, yet she copied the Tampa Tribune and Ocala Star Banner in her letter. Her
complaints seemed baseless by own admission, “Understand I do not know if all I read and hear
is true, nor if all the answers to the questions will prove to be just or unjust,” but she certainly
seemed to be upset enough to write after the significant changes in the school district. This kind
of questioning the competence of black teachers was not uncommon. Betty Jackson attended
BTW and taught there when she started her career. As integration occurred, she moved over to
Inverness Primary and eventually she taught at Crystal River Primary. Inverness Primary was her
first experience teaching white students. Parents would not directly question her intellect, but
often told her “you don’t have enough experience.” She continued, “I wasn’t smart enough is
what I think they meant. Once they put them in and found out their children were learning like
119
“Gap in classroom today is economic” Tampa Tribune, Citrus/Marion April 17, 1990; Ibid; See all of Citrus
County Chronicle 1969 Edition.
78 everyone else they didn’t have much of a problem. You have problems with parents anyway,
black or white.”120
While the integration process was going on, the county had already turned its eye towards
expanding educational opportunities for the growing population. In April and June of 1967,
Superintendent James McCall pursued $274,770 in state funding for three new schools, a bus
maintenance garage, county wide deep freeze unit, curriculum materials center, county
vocational and technical school, marine science station, and an administration building. At the
same time, McCall was managing a teacher’s strike. On April 8, 1968, McCall received legal
permission from State Superintendent Floyd T. Christian for the county to rehire teachers and
retroactively dock their pay. On April 23, 1968, the St. Petersburg Times reported the issue had
been reolved. One hundred, forty-seven teachers were hired in the county, including 28 who
were rehired to an annual contract and 15 who were reinstated to their continual contract. By
November 1968, the Withlacoochee Technical Institute had been constructed, and by March of
the following year, the new Crystal River High School would be dedicated. McCall expressed his
gratitude towards the Chronicle editor, David Arthurs, for his editorial exhorting the need for
funding to complete the building programs, “at this time, I continue resolute my opinion that
Citrus County will assume a real and strong leadership in the field of public educationparticularly among the small counties of our state.” Citus County leadership had much on their
agenda and even more in their financial ledgers. The growth of the school system was directly
120
Series 253, Box 16, FF 40, Citrus Co, 1969-1970, DOE Associate Commissioner Reference File, 1965-71. Letter
to Floyd T Christian from MH Holman. August 14, 1969.; Betty Jackson. Interview with the Author. March 30,
2010. In possession of the author.
79 tied to the population influx and state and federal funds. A lack of compliance to integration
would have stymied the expansion. 121
In the midst of profound change, the Citrus County community found a unifying leader in
the black community. Archie Dabney played an integral part to the peaceful integration of the
schools. Dabney came from Booker T Washington where he led three athletic teams, winning
state with several. He also was the science teacher at the high school. Dabney grew up in Florida,
served in the military, and was educated in North Carolina before returning to Florida to teach.
He taught in Lake and Nassau county before starting at BTW in 1956. During the integration
process, he transferred over to Crystal River high school as an assistant football coach, head
basketball coach, and head track coach. Dabney also taught science. He told the Chronicle that
integration went smoothly except for a few disgruntled students. Some white students left
campus, but Dabney pursued them, convincing them to come back. Then a handful of young
black men came up from St Petersburg to protest or stir up trouble for the school. He met them in
the parking lot and encouraged them to head back without incident.122
Dabney downplayed the pacifying leadership he provided for the school and the area. He
was a tall but gentle man. His imposing figure commanded respect, but his respect for students
and parents earned theirs. He was keenly aware of the politics and societal mores the county was
coming out of. In one instance, Dabney was taking his Earth Science class outside the classroom
to a plot of land the high school had designated for his class. On his way out, two freshman girls
grabbed his hands on each side and began swinging them. Dabney recoiled from them and tried
121
Florida State Archives Series 306, Box 2, FF 19 “Citrus County 1966-67”; “147 Teachers Hired,” St Petersburg
Times April 23, 1968.
122
Lyle McBride, “Coach Turned Principal Recalls Smooth Transition” Citrus County Chronicle April 4, 1990. 80 to explain how it would look to a visitor if they saw a black male teacher, essentially, holding
hands with white female students. But despite his explanation, his kindness to students was
charismatic. They continued grabbing his hands as if it were a game to play with “Coach
Dabney.” In another instance, the community’s respect for Dabney overflowed in a standing
ovation. A speaker at an open forum for parents regarding the integration process, white and
black parents applauded Dabney after his talk. The applause symbolized the appreciation of the
community for his leadership and poise during a tense two years journey.123
It took people like Archie Dabney to lay groundwork for a smooth transition. Dabney’s
patience and refusal to hold bitterness or grudges against the white people of Citrus County for
the second-class citizenship, pay, and facilities made Dabney one of the leaders for the
community’s integration efforts. Even during his transfer, he was passed up as head football
coach despite winning a state title at BTW. He was made Offensive Coordinator for football and
head basketball coach (football was considered the premier job). Dabney was no fool or
pushover. He told the administration, “I wasn’t going to be somebody’s trainer. They said that
wasn’t what they wanted.” He did not hold a grudge nor speak ill of those who made the
decisions. He led with poise, dignity, and patience. Dabney’s leadership through personal
interaction and quiet action brought peace to a potentially volatile circumstance.124
Dabney was not the only community member, white or black, to aid the integration
process. There were thousands of men and women who treated one another with dignity, who
helped each other when prevailing mores discouraged it. There were thousands, who for decades,
sold food to one another, let their children play together, or doctored the sick. These accounts are
123
Ibid 124
Greg Erbtoesser, “Citrus Springs Principal to Retire” Citrus County Chronicle April 6, 1995; Lyle McBride,
“Coach Turned Principal Recalls Smooth Transition” Citrus County Chronicle April 4, 1990.
81 not documented in full, nor could they be. Yet if there were not such people with such agency,
then Citrus County’s integration would not have succeeded. A culture does not change simply
because a governmental body requires it. It requires men and women who can affect that change
through relationships and community; bonding people together who were not previously bonded.
And they do so with no ulterior motive, but because it is right to heal communities, to unite
people, and to promote the equality and sanctity of each person who belongs to that community.
Citrus County’s economic development created predominantly non-violent, moderate
race relations between blacks and whites. No discernible pattern or behavior of violent
discrimination existed. Instead, moderate race relations were established as blacks and whites
moved to the area to make better lives for themselves through low paying labor jobs. Yet through
the early 20th century, whites were able to accumulate wealth through higher paying jobs and
access to higher education, whereas blacks were relegated to labor positions and grade levels no
higher than eighth grade. The county was influenced politically by the trends in the state,
especially the manner in which its education system was managed, which included a separate
system with vast inequality between blacks and whites until 1967. Generations of blacks were
denied opportunity to equally funded education, which would have given access to higher
education and higher paying jobs. The black community valued education and used it as a means
for upwards mobility. The experience of blacks throughout Florida varied by region. Citrus
County was not far from urban Tampa, yet it was agrarian in trade. Citrus County, often
considered in a region too far north to be influenced by the racially moderating forces of tourism
dollars, accepted the economic and social change tied to the changing demographics tourists and
seasonal residents brought. The pursuit of economic betterment be it phosphate or the service
82 industry cut like a double edged sword. It created and veneered the county’s systemic racism, but
also opened the door for a smooth integration process.
83 CHAPTER 6
LIMITATIONS
This is the first academic paper on the black community in Citrus County, but it has
several limitations. It does not make use of personal papers, therefore a true bottom up approach
is not used. This study does use oral interviews, but the information gained is retrospective rather
than information that may have been communicated at the time of events of interest. This study
is an overview of over a century’s worth of events and information. It provides a framework for
other studies to build on, but it does not drill down into one single time period except in the last
chapter. There is a rich history within the black community that can still be told, but finding the
right sources and right narrative will be difficult. For example, there is a cemetery where blacks
were required to be buried prior to integration, and many still are buried there. The land is
unowned, sits between businesses and CRHS, and is kept up by the community. There are no
public sources on this cemetery, yet it is a fascinating insight into the community. This paper
ends with the integration of the county, but a new study should look at the influx of white
retirees to the county and its effects on the black community. The chapter on economic
development is a survey of two or three distinct industries. There is a tremendous wealth of
sources available to synthesize into an economic history of the county, including agriculture,
aquaculture, manufacturing, and land development.
In the county archives, there are books and file cabinets upon books and file cabinets of
deeds, land deals, and business registrations, in addition to the full archives of the county
newspaper. Those can be used to give a thorough account of economic development in the
county. Another limitation of this study was my uncertainty in the sources to use and narrative to
tell. The county has a large number of histories written about specific towns or events; none are
84 academic, most are self-published. I found it difficult to sift through those histories to find
primary sources or ways to connect eras or communities. I suspect those writers struggled with
the same dilemma I did, that primary sources were difficult to come by besides the anecdotes of
those who lived during that time.
85 APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW SUBJECTS
Denny Allen is my father. He was born and raised in Crystal River. He attended Crystal River
High School during the integration process and participated on athletic teams. His experience is a
first hand student experience of what the atmosphere was like during that time frame.
Gene Allen is my grandfather. He was born and raised in Citrus County. His family line on his
father’s side helped settle the county. He was born in 1928 and lived through the Great
Depression contributing to his family’s survival through agricultural production. His experience
provides insight into the county as it experienced economic and social changed through the 20h
century.
Archie Dabney is potentially the most beloved figure in Citrus County history. He moved to the
county to work as a teacher and coach at Booker T. Washington High School. He was a leader in
the black community and a leader during integration. His poise helped guide the county in an
eventless integration process. He was a bridge between the black and white communities during
a potentially tumultuous time.
Edna Foster was born in Red Level, Florida, and moved to Crystal River at age five. She was
part of the African-American community in Crystal River. Her experience provides insight into
the inequalities experienced during the segregation era. Ms. Foster owned a salon in town as an
adult. She provided understanding of the black psyche during the segregation period.
86 John Grannan, is the president of the Citrus County Historical Society. He is the authority on
the history of the county. He was born in Orland and raised in Citrus County. He graduated from
Citrus High School before integration took place, but his wealth of knowledge and access to
sources filled in the gaps for many of the events that were not covered in official documents.
Betty Jackson was born and raised in Citrus County, Florida. She lived and worked in both
Inverness and Crystal River. She grew up in the segregated school system and then worked as a
teacher during integration. She provided valuable perspective to the student experience as well as
the teacher experience from the standpoint of an African-American in the school system.
87 APPENDIX B
SAMPLE LETTER OF CONSENT
Purpose of the research study:
The purpose of this study is to examine the race relations and integration process in Citrus
County, Florida.
What you will be asked to do in the study:
To provide anecdotes and perspective about your experiences as a child and adult regarding race
relations and any part of the integration process you may have participated in. You may also be
asked to describe the county and daily life prior to the 1960’s.
Time required:
1-2 hours
Risks and Benefits:
You will experience no physical risk. You may choose to not answer any question. You will not
be forced to answer any question. Your interview will be recorded and used in this study.
Compensation:
You will not be paid for this interview.
Confidentiality:
Your identity will be used in the paper, which will be placed in the Robert Manning Strozier
Library at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. It may also be available electronically
through the library’s website.
Voluntary participation:
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. There is no penalty for not participating.
Right to withdraw from the study:
You have the right to withdraw from the study at anytime without consequence.
Whom to contact if you have questions about the study:
You may contact Shawn Allen, the author, or Maxine D. Jones, his major professor.
Agreement:
I have read the procedure described above. I voluntarily agree to participate in the procedure and
I have received a copy of this description.
Participant: ___________________________________________ Date: _________________
Principal Investigator: __Dennis Shawn Allen_________________ Date: _________________
88 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
Documents and Manuscripts
Copeland, Cassandra Gail. Knee High: Chronicles of the George Washington Carver Junior High
School, 1923-1968, June, 1995.
Citrus County Board of Public Instruction Minutes Book 5. Citrus County School Board Office,
Inverness, Florida.
Macrae, Mary. Citrus County Historical Notes, The Homosassa Public Library, c1976.
Series 226, Box 3, FF4 Southern Regional Council, 63 Auburn Ave NE Atlanta, GA. “State
Parks for Negroes-New Tests of Equality” Pamphlet April-May, Vol 9, Nos. 4&5.
Florida State Archives, Tallahassee, Florida.
Series 226, Box 3, FF4, Minutes from North Carolina Board of Conservation and Development,
July 1&2, 1957. Florida State Archives, Tallahassee, Florida.
Series 226, Box 3, FF 4 Governor’s Advisory Commission on Reace Relations, “Desegregation
of Recreational Facilities in the Southern States” August 1960. Florida State Archives,
Tallahassee, Florida.
Series 226, Box 06, FF9 “Negro Values-Report”Presentation at SE Regional Conference,
American Public Welfare Association. September 22, 1960. Florida State Archives,
Tallahassee, Florida.
Series 226, Box 6, FF 10, “Tribune Fight on Welfare Saves People $500,000”. Sam Mase,
October 10, 1960. Florida State Archives, Tallahassee, Florida.
Series 226, Box 6, FF 10, “Fruits of Haste, and of Patience” Sam Mase, October 5, 1960. Florida
State Archives, Tallahassee, Florida.
Series 306, Box 2, FF 19 “Citrus County 1966-1967”. Florida State Archives, Tallahassee,
Florida.
Sister Delores J Williams. “Our Church History.” St James African Methodist Episcopal. June
2006.
Newspapers:
Citrus County Chronicle.
St. Petersburg Times.
89 Tampa Tribune.
Interviews:
Denny Allen. Interview with the Author. Citrus County, Florida. June 22, 2010. Interview in
possession of the author.
Gene Allen. Interview with the Author. Citrus County, Florida. June 18, 2010. Interview in
possession of the author.
Edna Foster. Interview with the Author. Citrus County, Florida. March 20, 2010. Interview in
possession of the author.
Betty Jackson, Interview with the Author. Citrus County, Florida. March 2010. Interview in
possession of the author.
John Grannan, Interview with the Author. Citrus County, Florida. May 13, 2010. Interview in
possession of the author.
Archie Dabney. Interview. Date unknown. In possession of Citrus County Historical Society.
Secondary Sources
Books:
Bash, Evelyn C and Marge K Pritchett. A History of Crystal River, Florida. Crystal River
Heritage Council, 2006.
Burger, Betty. Back Roads, Author House, 2008.
Carter, Horace W. Nature’s Masterpiece at Homosassa: Where the Saltgrass Joins the Sawgrass,
Atlantic Publishing, 1981.
Chafe, William. Civilities and Civil Rights: Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Black Struggle
for Freedom, New York, 1980.
Colburn, David R. Racial Change and Community Crisis: St. Augustine, FL, 1877-1980,
Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1991.
Dietrich, Stanton T. The Urbanization of Florida’s Population: A Historical Perspective of
County Growth 1830-1970. Gainesville, FL: Bureau of Economic and Business Research,
University of Florida, 1978.
90 Dinkins, J Lester. Dunnellon Boomtown of the 1890’s: The Story of Rainbow Springs and
Dunnellon, Great Outdoors Publishing Co., 1969.
Dittmer, John. Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi, Urbana, 1990.
Dunn, Hampton. Back Home: A History of Citrus County, FL. 1989 Citrus County Historical
Society, 1989.
Davis, Edward D. A Half Century of Struggle for Freedom in FL. Drakes Pub, 1981.
Gannon, Michael. The New History of Florida. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1996.
Goldfield, David. Black, White, and Southern: Race Relations and Southern Culture, 1940 to the
Present, Baton Rouge, 1990.
Goldfield, David. Region, Race, and Cities: Interpreting the Urban South, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana State University Press, 1997.
Goldfield, David. Still Fighting the Civil War: The American South and Southern History, Baton
Rouge, Louisiana State University Press, 2002.
Harvard Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality, 1954-1992, New York, Hill and Wang, 1993.
Jones, Maxine and Kevin McCarthy. African-Americans in Florida, Sarasota, Pineapple Press,
1993.
Morris, Marie L. A History of Floral City, Citrus Printers, 1989.
Noll, Steven and David Tegeder. Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the
Struggle for Florida’s Future, Tallahassee: University of Florida Press, 2009.
Parsons, Al. Lightning in the Sun: A History of Florida Power Corporation 1899-1974, Florida
Power Corp, 1974
Rabby, Glenda Alice. The Pain and the Promise: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Tallahassee,
Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1999.
Revels, Tracy J. Sunshine Paradise: A History of Florida Tourism, Tallahassee: University Press
of Florida, March 6, 2011.
Ritchie, Tom. Floral City: The Story of a Small Town in Citrus County and its Place within the
History of Florida, Hannie Printing, 1996.
Rivers, Larry E. Slavery in Florida: Territorial Days to Emancipation, Tallahassee: University
Press of Florida, 2000.
Smith, Charles U. The Civil Rights Movement in Florida and the United States, Tallahassee:
Father and Son Publishing, 1989.
91 Wagy,Tom. Governor LeRoy Collins of Florida: Spokesman of the New South, University of
Alabama Press, 1985.
Papers:
Stephen Dickter, “Beverly Hills: the Community with a Heart,” 1999, unpublished.
Dye, Thomas R. “Race, ethnicity, and the politics of economic development: a case study of
Cedar Key, Florida.” M.A. Thesis, Florida State University, 1992.
England, Richard L. “Citrus County, FL and the Great Depression” Thesis, University of South
Florida, 1994.
Goggin, John M. “Florida Indians,” Economic Leaflets: Bureau of Economic and Business
Research, College of Business Administration, UF, Gainesville, FL, vol X, No. 8, July
1951.
Kirves, Ronald L. “A History of IMS,” 1949-1982, unpublished, 1982.
Lord, Mills M. “David Levy Yulee: Statesman and Railroad Builder.” Thesis, University of
Florida, 1940.
Mays, Ron. “Citrus County Schools, the First Century 1887-1987,” unpublished May 20, 1987.
Tomberlin, Joseph A. “The Negro and Florida’s system of Education: The Aftermath of the
Brown Case (PhD diss. Florida State University, 1967).
Wilson, Roosevelt. “A determination of the Relationship between Civil Rights Legislation and
the Manner in which Blacks are Portrated in Six Florida Newspapers.” Thesis. FSU
College of Communication. June, 1977.
Journal Articles:
Butler, Michael J. “’More Negotiation and Less Demonstrations’: The NAACP, SCLC, and
Racial Conflict in Pensacola, 1970-78,” Florida Historical Quarterly 86 (2007).
Dillon, Patricia. “Civil Rights and School Desegregation in Sanford,” Florida Historical
Quarterly (Winter 1998).
Jones, Maxine. “’Without Compromise or Fear’”: Florida’s African American Female Activists”.
The Florida Historical Quarterly, Vol 77, No 4 (Spring, 1999) 475-502.
Killian, Lewis M. “Organization, Rationality, and Spontaneity in the Civil Rights Movement,”
American Sociological Review 49 (1984).
92 Rose, Chanelle. “The ‘Jewel’ of the South?: Miami, Florida and the NAACP’s struggle for Civil
Rights in America’s Vacation Paradise,” Floorida Historical Quarterly 86 (2007).
Tomberlin, Joseph A. “Florida and the School Desegregation Issue, 1954-1959,” The Journal of
Negro Education, 43 (1974).
Tomberlin, Joseph A. “Florida Whites and the Brown Decision of 1954” The Florida Historical
Quarterly, Vol 54, No 1 (Summer 1972) 22-36.
Websites:
City of Inverness, FL. “Downtown Historic Tour Guide, Inverness, FL.” http://www.invernessfl.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=199
History of Homosassa. “Etna Town and People.” Accessed December 14, 2011.
www.homosassahistory.com/EtnaPopulation.cfm.
93 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Dennis Shawn Allen is a graduate of Florida State University (2006). He was a four-year
letterman for the Track and Field team as a high jumper. He was two-time All ACC in his event,
four-time All ACC Academic Honor Roll, a member of 6 ACC team championships, and one
NCAA National Championship. He was a graduate assistant for the 2009 Track and Field team.
He has been a teacher for five years at Seven Rivers Christian School (Lecanto, Florida) and the
Maclay School (Tallahassee), where he taught US History and Civics. Currently, he is a teacher
at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. He is married to Dr. Mary-Margaret
Allen, MD. She is a pathology resident at Vanderbilt University. They have no children.
94