Primary Sources, Black History

Join The Gist of Freedom live on location, UNESCO Cnference with attorney Harvey Herman, as we discuss attorney Activist, Virgil D. Hawkins and visit his monument in Florida.   In 1949, Civil Rights Activist, Attorney Virgil D. Hawkins, as a student  applied to the University of Florida (UF) law school but was denied entry because of his race. He was urged to attend law school outside Florida but refused and sued the state, which responded by establishing a law school at FAMU. While he was admitted to FAMU’s law school, Hawkins continued his fight for acceptance at the University of Florida. Although he was unsuccessful, Hawkins’ long-fought battle led to the ultimate desegregation of the University of Florida. Hawkins received his law degree from the New England College of Law more than 20 years after applying to UF. The FAMU College of Law was founded in 1949 on the main campus in Tallahassee. After graduating 57 lawyers, the law school was closed by the state of Florida in 1968. The Florida Legislature v