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Virgil Hawkins Speeches

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In the year 1962, the head of the Law Department called my name “W. George Allen”. As soon as I reached the podium, I started my speech. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say that I am the first African American to graduate from the University of Florida Law school. I want to thank my family and friends, but most of all I want to thank a man named Virgil D. Hawkins. His contributions paved the way for people of my race to be able to graduate as lawyers from the state of Florida. Virgil D. Hawkins was born in Okahumpka, FL in the year 1906. He decided to become a lawyer at the age of eight when his father took him to the local courthouse. He watched a judge sentence six African Americans to jail for six months for gambling. Even at a young age, he knew this was excessive. He reaffirmed his choice at the age of thirteen when he observed the lynching of his cousin. However, he could not afford to attend law school. He ended up attending Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He later worked as the Director of Public …show more content…

Hawkins applied to the University of Florida School of Law. He was fully qualified but was turned down due to the color of his skin. He decided to sue and took his case to the Florida Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court put up a fight. Eventually, they offered to pay his tuition to go to college in another state and even built a new law school for blacks in Florida at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College in Tallahassee. Virgil Hawkins refused both of these offers. He appealed to the U.S Supreme Court and they ordered the Florida Supreme Court to let Hawkins into his chosen college. The Florida Court refused once again, claiming that his entrance would spark violence. The judges told Hawkins that if he withdrew his application and dropped the suit then they would allow other blacks to graduate from the University of Florida. He gave up his dream in order to let other African Americans have a chance to go to

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