Let us remember those fathers who led civil-rights struggles in Florida

Annually celebrated the third Sunday of June, Father’s Day is an opportunity for children of all ages to express love and respect to individuals whose paternal bond guides, nurtures and protects them.

Today, with the coronavirus pandemic and peaceful protests against excessive police force and brutality continuing, I am reminded of several fathers who led the struggle for justice and equality in Florida while protecting their families during the second half of the 20th century. This first quarter of the 21st century, they are remembered for their efforts to gain civil rights, and their legacies continue to impact society.

On April 11, an email from the Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches announced the selection of the late Harry T. Moore, attorney H.T. Smith and attorney John Due as its first named Law Fellows, a signal honor for selected law students.

Later in the spring, the NAACP Executive committee voted to take the program to the next level for a total of five named Fellows, all pioneer leaders in Florida’s struggle for civil rights. The students selected as 2020 Fellows are Traci Atwell (Harry T. Moore Fellow), Kean Knight (Attorney John Due Fellow), Raymere Thomas (Attorney H. T. Smith Fellow), Daniela Vega (Gwen Sawyer Cherry Fellow) and Courtney Shannon (Alcee Hastings Fellow). The program begins when the students register with their law schools, summer and fall 2020, for academic credit for internship, externship, independent study, or pro bono credit.

A statement from the president of the Florida NAACP Adora Obi Nweze explains the reason for the named Fellows:

“For eleven years, the Florida State Conference of NAACP Branches and Youth Units has served as a training institution for Florida law students interested in devoting much of their future professional lives to the practice of civil law. Our program now provides academic or pro bono credit at eight participating law schools: Florida State University, University of Florida, Florida A&M University, Barry University, NOVA Southeastern, St. Thomas, Florida International University, and the University of Miami. Helping to support the program are 63 volunteer participating attorneys — the largest contingent in any state.”

Based on their résumés, the students selected are talented with great promise and are up to the assigned tasks. Their program responsibilities will include drafting reports on education policy and drafting resolutions on major civil rights issues. According to David Honig, the Florida NAACP’s Special Counsel for Civil Rights and the program’s external preceptor, “because their [pioneer leaders’] work brought us a great distance, but it is not finished. Our Fellows are carrying the torch even farther. Naming the fellowships after these heroes reminds us that they’ve given their lives to the cause of justice.”

Looking back: Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriet, educators, were the victims of a bombing of their home in Mims, Florida, on Christmas night December 1951. And attorney Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry, educator, who was the first African American woman elected to the Florida Legislature and the first African American woman female lawyer in Miami-Dade County; attorney Alcee Hastings, U. S. representative for Florida’s 20th congressional district, with most of the majority-black precincts in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in his district; and attorney H. T. Smith, founding director of the Trial Advocacy Program at Florida International University College of Law. A nationally renowned trial lawyer and a highly sought-after advocacy lecturer, Smith is known for demanding a “full cup of justice” for the least, the lost, the looked over and the left out.” Attorney John D. Due Jr., a self-proclaimed “freedom lawyer,” is a longtime civil rights, human rights and community activist whose history of service spans more than six decades. As an attorney facing Jim Crow laws in the 1960s, he helped to pioneer the tactic of moving civil rights cases to federal court so that his clients would not be at the mercy of biased Southern state courts. His accomplishments include organizing sanitation workers and other unions to fight poverty, being a member of the Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board, and helping to secure the release of 500 Haitian refugee children.

Moving forward: In a recent telephone conversation, attorney Due recalled the injustices of the past and present and his hope for a better future for his family, the black community, and our nation. He spoke passionately of his late wife, civil rights activist, Patricia Stephens Due, and their three accomplished daughters: Lydia Due Greisz, an attorney; Johnita Patricia Due, a media attorney and chief diversity advisor for CNN; and Tananarive Due, a former Miami Herald reporter and Spelman College professor who teaches at UCLA and is also a novelist, journalist and screenwriter.

A compelling memoir titled “Freedom in the Family,” written by Patricia and Tananarive Due, recounts the hardships and contributions of their family, friends and supporters in the fight for civil rights.

In a lifetime that spans two centuries, attorney John D. Due Jr., at the age of 85, keeps up with the latest news. Of particular interest to him in recent weeks are the removal of Confederate symbols, the flag and statues that represent slavery, intimidation and oppression.

He commented on the removal of the Confederate statue in Gadsden County, Florida. Due said, “The Confederate statue [removed June 11, 2020] was offensive to black people. Not having it in front of the courthouse will help improve mental health of the community. It is a part of history, but should not be located at the courthouse.”

John Due continues to be recognized for his longtime civil and human rights activism. His daughters proudly announce his latest recognition: “The University of Florida is awarding Dad a Doctorate Of Humane Letters.” Following current guidelines of the Center for Disease Control, it will be conferred in a private virtual reception. This honor is well-deserved, and its presentation in any form is long overdue. Happy Father’s Day!

Dorothy Jenkins Fields, Ph.D., is a historian and founder of the Black Archives, History & Research Foundation of South Florida Inc. Send feedback to djf@bellsouth.net

This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 7:00 AM.