State Representative John B. Orr Jr. free essay sample

Throughout the Florida Capitol building, there are portraits or memorials commemorating virtually every political dignitary of the states past, including a caretaker governor who served merely three days. Nowhere on the premises, however, is there a tribute to the man who committed the most laudable act of political courage in Floridas history. That man is the late John B. Orr Jr. of Miami. In response to the Supreme Courts landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Florida was one of many Southern states that attempted to forestall racial integration of its public school system. Amidst the 1956 gubernatorial elections, incumbent Florida Governor LeRoy Collins â€Å"quietly supported a committee to explore legal measures by which the state could fortify its system of segregated practices† (Winsboro). The committee, chaired by retired Circuit Judge L.L. Fabisinski of Pensacola, recommended â€Å"the strengthening of local school boards and the enhancement of the governors powers of law enforcement† in order to perpetuate segregation of Floridas educational institutions (Winsboro). Bearing in mind the Fabisinski Commissions analysis, Governor Collins drafted a package of bills, including a Pupil Assignment Act and a Private School Corporation Act, to circumvent the Supreme Courts Brown ruling. On July 26, 1956, Governor Collins proposed the Fabisinski Commission segregation bills during a special session of the state legislature. When the roll was called on the first of the bills to reach the House floor, 89 legislators, embracing Floridas discriminatory racial customs, voted â€Å"Aye.† Representative John B. Orr Jr. alone voted â€Å"Nay.† On a point of personal privilege, Orr addressed a hushed and tense chamber to justify his dissent. â€Å"I believe that segregation is morally wrong,† he professed. â€Å"I believe that second-class citizens are repugnant to democratic principles. The fact that the custom is of long standing makes it no less wrong.† Orr probed the roots of Floridas racial intolerance, asserting that â€Å"the pigmentation of ones skin is no rational basis for setting him apart,† and, alluding to the original text of the Fifteenth Amendment, â€Å"we are backed by our constitution, that we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or creed.† In addition to his ethical grievances, Orr censured his colleagues flagrant disrespect for the Supreme Courts Brown ruling and the broader principles of American law. â€Å"To defy the highest court in our land,† Orr introspected, â€Å"is unthinkable to me.† Echoing the Warren Courts unanimous opinion in Brown, Orr noted that Florida had â€Å"not provided equal but separate educational facilities and I dont believe this is possible. As a consequence of the disparity in educational facilities, we in the South have had over the years a large segment of our population which has been poorly educated.† Orrs subsequent revelation that he was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) garnered perhaps the bitterest revulsion from his fellow legislators. The lone dissenter concluded his speech by quoting a prayer recited by the chaplain of the House two days earlier: â€Å"Help us, thus, to see that it is better to fail in a ju st cause that will ultimately succeed, than to succeed in an unrighteous cause that will ultimately fail.† Galvanized by the injustices of Floridas segregation tradition, Orr boldly advocated for equal academic facilities for an oppressed African-American minority. Just as John F. Kennedy admired the maverick independence of eight U.S. senators in Profiles in Courage, State Representative Orr epitomized â€Å"a politician conscientiously desiring †¦ ‘to push [his] skiff from the shore alone into a hostile and turbulent sea.† After his twenty minute tirade against the Fabisinski bills, Orr â€Å"received no applause† when he returned to his House seat (Boyles). Such silence was only a ripple in the torrential political and personal backlash Orr faced in the wake of his lone dissent. The following morning, Orrs aunt received a phone call threatening Orr and his family. A mob of white supremacists bearing torches trespassed onto Orrs property and burned a cross on his front lawn. In evaluating Orrs pro-integration stand, Florida newspapers lamented that the young Miamian was â€Å"washed up politically† and â€Å"alone – without friends – among his fellow legislators.† The Miami Herald queried: Would it not have been better for Orr to have ‘taken a walk at the time of the voting in the House of Representatives rather than develop increased animosity of the smaller counties against big Dade? Absenting ones self from a roll call vote may not be the bravest thing to do, but it is an old maneuver used by politicians who do not wish to be recorded voting on a particular issue. Orr could have â€Å"taken a walk† during this grueling trial of conscience. But he didnt. Miami-Dade voters responded no more favorably to Orrs audacious dissent. The young legislator was re-elected in 1956 only because the filing deadline had passed. Two years later, Orr lost to segregationist David Eldridge in the Democratic primary election. Like outspoken Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, featured in Kennedys Profiles in Courage, State Representative Orr was â€Å"willing to meet crushing defeat rather than compromise his principles† because â€Å"his desire to win or maintain a reputation for integrity and courage was stronger than his desire to maintain his office† (Kennedy). Although Orr never achieved any political office higher than Miami-Dade County mayor, a part-time position with little influence, he continued to press for the gradual  ­integration of Floridas school system. Orrs political martyrdom sowed a seed for educational reform in Florida. That seed  ­finally germinated on the morning of Sept. 7, 1959, when â€Å"twenty-five African-American students stepped onto the grounds of Orchard Villa Elementary School and Air Base Elementary School,† marking the official end of segregation within the Miami-Dade County Public School system (Winsboro). In essence, Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 enabled federal enforcement of desegregation in Floridas remaining insubordinate school districts. After years of stalwart advocacy in the face of overwhelming opposition, Orr witnessed his just cause of racial integration ultimately succeed. BIBLIOGRAPHY Boyles, John L. â€Å"Legislator Berates Orr on House.† The Miami Herald 31 July 1956: 2A. Microform. MDPLS Florida Room. Boyles, John L. â€Å"Orrs Family Threatened on Telephone Soon After Blistering Speech in House.† The Miami Herald 27 July 1956: 26A. Microform. MDPLS Florida Room. â€Å"Dade Legislator Whos in NAACP Tells House ‘Segregation is Morally Wrong.† Tampa Morning Tribune 27 July 1956: n. pag. Microform. MDPLS Florida Room. Dean, Clarence. â€Å"Vote Emphasizes Florida Changes.† The New York Times 8 Nov. 1956: 42. Microform. ProQuest Historical Newspapers (2006) Duke, Lynne. â€Å"How Big a Stretch?† The Washington Post 7 May 2007: C01. Web. 28 June 2010. Dyckman, Martin. â€Å"Few Have the Courage to Take a Stand Series.† Editorial. St. Petersburg Times 11 Jan. 2000, South Pinellas ed.: 11A. Print. Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage. 1956. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print. McDermott, John B. â€Å"Dade Politicians Ponder Orrs Position.† The Miami Herald 28 July 1956: 11A. Microform. MDPLS Florida Room. McDermott, John B. â€Å"Orrs Stand Weakens His Usefulness.† The Miami Herald 29 July 1956: n. pag. Microform. MDPLS Florida Room. â€Å"NAACP Member, Orr Says.† The Miami Herald 25 July 1956: n. pag. Microform. MDPLS Florida Room. â€Å"Southerner with a Conscience.† Harper Magazine Oct. 1957: 18-20. Print. Taylor, Matt. â€Å"Jack Orr: Trail of Glory and Despair.† The Miami Herald 4 May 1969: 14C. Microform. MDPLS Florida Room. Vecchione, Joe. â€Å"Bi-Racial Effort Suggested Here.† The Miami News 21 Sept. 1958: n. pag. Microform. MDPLS Florida Room. Winsboro, Irvin D.S. â€Å"An Historical Perspective on Public School Desegregation in Florida.† Florida Conference of Historians. Florida Gulf Coast University, 27 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 June 2010. .