[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E233-E234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE COURAGE AND DETERMINATION OF VIRGIL HAWKINS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 24, 2010

  Mr. GRAYSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
courageous civil rights hero Virgil Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins was the leader 
in the fight for the desegregation of Florida's universities. Mr. 
Hawkins is a true role model for his determination and personal 
sacrifice.
  Born in 1906 in Okahumpka, Florida, Mr. Hawkins decided from a young 
age that he wanted to be a lawyer after witnessing the unfair treatment 
of African Americans in the judicial system. Mr. Hawkins graduated high 
school in Jacksonville, Florida, and attended Lincoln University in 
Pennsylvania. By the time Mr. Hawkins was 42, he had saved up enough 
money to attend law school by selling insurance and working as a school 
teacher. In 1949, he applied to the University of Florida Law School in 
Gainesville.
  At the time Mr. Hawkins applied, it was against Florida law for 
African Americans and whites to attend school together. Mr. Hawkins was 
denied admission because of the color of his skin, not because he did 
not meet the qualifications. He decided to challenge this unjust 
practice by filing suit with the state Supreme Court. The state offered 
to pay Mr. Hawkins tuition for an out of state school, but he refused. 
To prevent similar lawsuits the state opened a law school for African 
Americans at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College (FAMC) for 
Blacks in Tallahassee. In 1952, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed his 
case, arguing he could attend FAMC. Mr. Hawkins turned to the United 
States Supreme Court and in 1956 the Court ordered the state of Florida 
to admit Mr. Hawkins to the University of Florida Law School. 
Initially, the state did not comply with the Supreme Court's order, 
citing the violence that would erupt if Mr. Hawkins was admitted. 
Finally, a district court judge ordered the University of Florida 
graduate school to open its doors to all qualified students, regardless 
of race. This was a major step forward in Mr. Hawkins's struggle; 
unfortunately, University of Florida claimed he was not qualified and 
did not admit him.
  After a nine-year struggle to desegregate Florida universities, Mr. 
Hawkins attended the unaccredited New England School of Law in Boston, 
Massachusetts. Due to the lack of accreditation of the law school, he 
was not allowed to take the bar when he returned to Florida. Mr. 
Hawkins was not allowed to practice law and worked as a salesman, 
teacher, a public relations director, and as the director of a 
community action agency.
  Holding on to his dream to practice law, at the age of 69, Mr. 
Hawkins asked the Florida Supreme Court to admit him to the Florida 
bar. In 1976, the court allowed Mr. Hawkins to become a lawyer without 
taking the bar examination. After spending 30 years fighting the 
discriminatory foundations in the educational system, Mr. Hawkins 
opened his own law firm in Leesburg, Florida.
  Today the law library at the University of Florida is named the 
Virgil Hawkins Library in honor of the sacrifices he made in his 
struggle for justice and equality in the admissions processes of the 
state's university system. A monument honoring Virgil Hawkins stands in 
his hometown of Okahumpka, Florida, and is located a few blocks from 
his childhood home. These are just minor tributes to a man who 
contributed so much to the civil rights struggle in Central Florida, 
and America as a whole.
  Madam Speaker, as Black History Month comes to a close, it is with 
great honor that I recognize the incredible activism of this civil 
rights leader. Mr. Hawkins's lifelong struggle for justice is 
inspirational to all future generations of Floridians, and Americans. 
As a fellow lawyer, I admire his dedication to seek justice and equal 
educational opportunities for all. Florida is indebted to Mr. Hawkins 
for the personal sacrifices and the pathways to equal access to 
education in the desegregation of our school systems.
    

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