Tampa's Path to Equality Part 1: The First Steps

FOX 13 Chief Political Reporter Craig Patrick explores Tampa's groundbreaking role in the Civil Rights Movement, including the city's early protests of inequalities like segregated lunch counters.

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa is preparing to celebrate one of the greatest breakthroughs in civil rights history. At the dawn of the civil rights movement, before the fire hoses and police dogs of Birmingham, before the beatings of St. Augustine, and the violence of Bloody Sunday in Selma, one city, rose above the rest.

The backstory:

Sixty-five years ago, on February 29, 1960, students defied segregation at a Woolworth’s lunch counter. It led to the peaceful integration of lunch counters across Tampa long before the rest of the American South.

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It's a story of how some of Tampa's roads and parks got their names, and of leaders who sacrificed their power to bring us together. Then-Tampa Mayor Julian Lane and Gov. LeRoy Collins' efforts to integrate the city and state lost their next elections and became profiles in courage.

"This is the perfect place, the perfect time," said University of South Florida Professor Emeritus Dr. Gary Mormino. "You know there's something bigger than yourself, and I'm going to pay a price for bringing this."

What's next:

And yet, it’s a story seldom told. FOX 13 Chief Investigator Craig Patrick spent the past two months digging through records and pictures in USF’s special collections and City of Tampa archives. He also sat down with the men and women who participated in the sit-ins of 1960, and met the writer, producers, and actors who are bringing the story to life on stage.

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It’s a partnership between the producers at Stageworks and the hosts at the Straz Center. Their play 'When the Righteous Triumph' opens at the Jaeb Theatre on March 6.

FOX 13 produced a documentary on Tampa’s civil rights movement called "Tampa’s Path to Equality" and will air a series of special reports the week of February 17, Monday-Thursday at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Chief Investigator Craig Patrick.

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