Gainesville trailblazers celebrated for integrating schools in Alachua County

A two-day celebration of courage, strength and perseverance honored trailblazers for their actions in desegregating public schools in Alachua County.

The event was held to honor all students who entered former all-Black Lincoln High School as seventh-graders during the 1959-60 school year by extending them honorary membership into the LHS graduating class of 1965. Billed as the "First of the First: Recognizing Lincoln High School Alumni Triumphs," it was held Friday and Saturday at the Mount Carmel Baptist Church T.A. Wright Family Life Center and hosted by the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida as part of its Challenging Racism at UF Public Program Series.

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The event Saturday focused on celebrating LaVon Wright Bracy, Sandra Cummings and the late Joel Buchanan for integrating Gainesville High School in 1964. The trio were all students at LHS before enrolling at GHS.

“Thank you for assembling as we remember students who paved the way many years ago,” said the retired Rev. Milford L. Griner, president and founder of the Rosa Parks Quiet Courage Committee, who delivered the convocation at the event.

“They suffered verbal abuse and all they wanted to do was go to school and get an education,” Griner. “Injustice still plagues us in 2023. We thank God for the courage to fight against hate and injustice. We are going through a pandemic of hate. Let's continue to do good trouble and abolish hate and racism.”

Both days of the celebration were recorded and will be stored in the Joel Buchanan Archive of African American Oral History at UF, said Paul Ortiz, director of the SPOHP via a video presentation.

"He (Buchanan) was our community's greatest longest running historian,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz said he met Buchanan in 1996 and admired his passion for collecting interviews and hearing people's stories.

“He never turned down the call to talk about Black history,” Ortiz.

He also recognized Charles Hall, who was the first Black principal at GHS.

According to Alachua County Public Schools, Hall led the school from 1999 through 2002 when he became a district administrator.  All together, Hall served the Alachua County Public School District for nearly 40 years.

The event was presided over by Adolfho Romero, who echoed the sentiments of Ortiz.

"Joel Buchanan was able to gather hundreds and hundreds of interviews and he was able to secure legacies through the stories he collected,” Romero said.

Evelyn Foxx, president of the Alachua County branch NAACP, said she learned a lot from Buchanan, Cummings and Bracy.

“I’m delighted to be in the presence of Bracy, who is a trailblazer,” Foxx said. “If it hadn't been for you, we would still be back where we used to be. We don't want to get back to where we were.”

Foxx also talked about the legacy of Bracy’s father, the late Rev. Dr. Thomas A. Wright Sr., who also served as president of the local branch of the NAACP for many years.

“He left a mark on all of us,” Foxx said. “He inspired us to move forward.”

Bracy was the keynote speaker at Saturday's program.

"It's so important we keep our history alive,” Bracy said. “No one is going to save us but us. Class of 1965, it is incumbent upon you to let them know the history of Gainesville. If we don't teach them, they won't be taught.”

She commended Buchanan for his work in recording history in the community.

“Joel Buchanan did a phenomenal job of the history that was recorded,” Bracy said. “I was married 48 years ago and he was our wedding coordinator. He was meticulous with everything. He had so many talents we cannot forget about.”

Bracy said she, Buchanan and Cummings overcame the challenges they faced being the first to integrate GHS.

“Whenever you are the first, it will be difficult and challenging,” Bracy said. “They, too, took the abuse and graduated. They felt it was better to graduate to make sure those who came after us know what we had done.”

She remembered coming to Gainesville from St. Augustine with her family.

"I came to Gainesville very scared and nervous,” Bracy said. “We were ran out of St. Augustine by the Ku Klux Klan.”

Bracy said the Gainesville community welcomed them like family.

“Everybody had arms wide open for us,” Bracy said. “They made the transition very good for us. I was a part of the band and I was a part of the student council (at LHS).”

Bracy said her brother, Philoron Wright, made her transition to Gainesville High School smoother by telling her what was happening at Lincoln.

"I made the decision to integrate based on my father's wishes,” Bracy said. "Him (Philoron Wright) staying was therapeutic for me. He kept me abreast of what was going on at Lincoln High school. He was instrumental to make sure I din't forget what took place at Lincoln High School.”

Bracy said she researched her ancestry and found out she was a part of the Zulu tribe, which is based in South Africa.

"The Zulu tribe are warriors,” Bracy said. “We determine that whatever you start doing, you will tackle it. We're living in a time now where we all need to be warriors. What we fought for 50 years ago we have to continue fighting for today. We need to pay close attention to the University of Florida with its current president Ben Sasse. We cannot be asleep at the switch. We need to make certain we're making progress and make sure we don't go back to where we were in 1965. We need to make sure we stay woke.”

Bracy said she was grateful to receive the honor on behalf of herself, Buchanan and Cummings.

“Thank you so much for honoring me, but this honor goes to the three of us to make sure all students can choose where they want to go to school,” Bracy said. “It was great to receive a welcome from the Gainesville High School students (when she last visited the school last month) because in 1965 I was not welcome.”

Bracy ended her speech with the words of poet Maya Angelou from the poem, “Still I Rise.”

“We must rise to the occasion and rise to what's happening,” Bracy said. “We must make sure our children and our grandchildren rise.”

Otis Stover, vice president of the Lincoln High School Alumni Association, talked about the progress of the Lincoln High School Memorial Wall that will feature all the names of Lincoln High School graduates that will be displayed at Lincoln Middle School in southeast Gainesville, which when it was built housed Lincoln High School.

Stover said the completion of the wall is at 98% and the project will be completed before this year is out.

It is important elders in the Black community and others work to keep history alive so it does not repeat itself.

"Jim Crow got a brand new suit on and wants to push us back in our place and we must make sure that does not happen,” Stover said. “What we've learned to combat racism needs to be passed on to the next generation. Nobody can tell our story like we can tell our story. It is important we don't allow our culture to slip away. Let us stay on top of this and keep our history alive. Slavery didn't die, it morphed.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Gainesville Lincoln High School Alumni Association honors former students