M. Athalie Range
Encyclopedia
M. Athalie Range was a civil rights
activist
and politician
who was the first African-American to serve on the Miami, Florida
City Commission
, and the first African-American since Reconstruction and the first woman to head a Florida
state agency, the Department of Community Affairs.
on November 7, 1915. Her grandparent
s had all been immigrants from the Bahamas. When Athalie was five or six years old, the Wilkinson family moved to Miami. Athalie Wilkinson graduated from all-black Booker T. Washington High School
in Overtown
, Miami. She married Oscar Lee Range in 1937, and they had four children, Myrna, Patrick, Oscar and Gary. During this period the Ranges lived in the Liberty Square Housing Project
. During World War II
Athalie Range found work cleaning trash from railroad cars.
In 1953 Oscar Range became a certified funeral director
and opened the Range Funeral Home in the Liberty City neighborhood in Miami. Oscar Range died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1960. Athalie Range then enrolled in the New England Institute of Anatomy and Embalming and obtained her funeral director certification so that she could operate the family business. The Range Funeral Homes eventually expanded to three locations, and Athalie Range continued to work in the business the rest of her life.
s, with no permanent buildings. There were only some twelve toilets each for boys and for girls. The only drinking fountains were outside, fed by pipes laid on top of ground, so that the water was usually too hot to drink. There were no trees or grassy areas on the school grounds, and no lunch room. Liberty City Elementary was one of the few schools in the (county-wide) school district
holding two half-day sessions.
Range led 125 African-American parents from the school to a meeting of the school board to present their demands for improvements to the school. After delaying the start of the meeting for an hour, the board heard Athalie Range speak. Much to her surprise, the board agreed to make improvements. They ordered hot meals to be provided by a near-by white school to Liberty City Elementary, moved another portable to the school to use in serving the hot lunches, and began construction of a new, permanent school building, the first school for African-Americans built in the district in twenty-one years. Althalie Range continued to serve as President of school and county-wide PTAs for sixteen years.
, although not a majority. In the runoff election
, Range's opponent, a white man named Irwin Christie, sent a sound truck through white neighborhoods the day before the election broadcasting the message that if the white people did not get out and vote, they would have a black woman making laws for them. Athalie Range would later say, "His campaign decided to play the race card
, which took me out of contention." Many black voters had been allowed to take time off from work to vote in the primary, but were not allowed to do so for the runoff. Range lost the runoff, receiving about 17,000 votes, while Christie received about 18,000. Christie later apologized to Range for the way he had run his campaign, and she accepted the apology.
In 1966 one of the city commissioners resigned his seat, possibly with the encouragement of Miami Mayor Robert King High
. High was running for the Democratic Party
nomination for Governor of Florida at the time. He appointed Athalie Range to fill the unexpired term of the commissioner who had resigned. In 1967 and again in 1969 Athalie Range was reelected to the City commission. While on the commission, Range sought to have garbage collection improved in black neighborhoods, which sometimes went three weeks between garbage pickups, while white neighborhoods got twice a week pickups. After a vote on her proposed ordinance to equalize garbage service was twice postponed, Range had her neighbors brings bags of garbage to the commission meeting and dump them on the commissioners' desks. After that the ordinance was passed. She also pressed for tighter gun controls, but was able to get only part of what she wanted. After a fire caused by a kerosene heater
killed eleven people in a house in a black neighborhood, Range led an effort to have such heaters banned in Miami.
Range approached City Manager
Melvin Reese about having an African-American police officer assigned to motorcycle patrol. When Reese resisted, Range made a deal with Mayor High; her vote for buying the land for the proposed Alice Wainwright Park in exchange for an African-American motorcycle patrolman. The first African-American motorcycle patrolman in Miami was Robert Ingraham, who later became Chief of Police and then Mayor of Opa-locka, Florida
When asked about her accomplishments in office, Range said, "There were so many inequities in those days that you could just reach out and pick something and change it."
Athalie Range was one of the first African-Americans in Florida to back Jimmy Carter
when he ran for President
. Range introduced Carter to African-American groups in Florida before he had announced his candidacy. President Carter later appointed Range to a two-year term on the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
governing board. In a little over thirty years she had gone from cleaning railroad cars to helping run AMTRAK.
In 1989 Athalie Range was once again appointed to fill a vacancy on the Miami City Commission. Athalie Range was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2004 she was still helping run the family funeral homes, and was serving as Chairman of the Virginia Key
Beach Project, which was established to preserve the Virginia Key Beach Park, once the only public beach in Dade County
open to African-Americans.
Athalie Range Park, and the Athalie Range Olympic Swimming Complex are named after her. Athalie Range died November 14, 2006 in Miami, at the age of 91.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who was the first African-American to serve on the Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
City Commission
Council-manager government
The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
, and the first African-American since Reconstruction and the first woman to head a Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
state agency, the Department of Community Affairs.
Early life and marriage
Mary Athalie Wilkinson was born in Key West, FloridaKey West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
on November 7, 1915. Her grandparent
Grandparent
Grandparents are the parents of a person's own parent, whether that be a father or a mother. Every sexually-reproducing creature who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic grandparents, eight genetic great-grandparents, sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents, etc...
s had all been immigrants from the Bahamas. When Athalie was five or six years old, the Wilkinson family moved to Miami. Athalie Wilkinson graduated from all-black Booker T. Washington High School
Booker T. Washington High School (Miami)
Booker T. Washington High School is a secondary school located at 1200 NW 6th Avenue in Miami, Florida, USA. Booker T. is located in the Overtown neighborhood, and serves families in the Overtown, Downtown, Park West, and Omni neighborhoods. Its principal is William Aristide.Booker T. Washington...
in Overtown
Overtown
Overtown is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States, just northwest of Downtown Miami. Originally called Colored Town during the Jim Crow era of the late 19th through the mid-20th century, the area was once the preeminent and is the historic center for commerce in the black American...
, Miami. She married Oscar Lee Range in 1937, and they had four children, Myrna, Patrick, Oscar and Gary. During this period the Ranges lived in the Liberty Square Housing Project
Liberty Square Housing Project
Liberty Square is a 753-unit Miami-Dade public housing apartment complex in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida. It is bordered at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/North 62nd Street to the south, North 67th Street to the north, State Road 933 to the east, and West 15th Avenue to the...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Athalie Range found work cleaning trash from railroad cars.
In 1953 Oscar Range became a certified funeral director
Funeral director
A funeral director , also known as a mortician or undertaker, is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as well as the planning and arrangement of the actual funeral ceremony...
and opened the Range Funeral Home in the Liberty City neighborhood in Miami. Oscar Range died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1960. Athalie Range then enrolled in the New England Institute of Anatomy and Embalming and obtained her funeral director certification so that she could operate the family business. The Range Funeral Homes eventually expanded to three locations, and Athalie Range continued to work in the business the rest of her life.
School activism
In 1948 Athalie Range became President of the Parent Teacher Association at her children's school, Liberty City Elementary. The school had 1200 students, and consisted of all portable classroomPortable classroom
A portable classroom A portable classroom A portable classroom (in Australian English a demountable and often referred to as a demountable, a "Terrapin" or a "Portakabin" (after the two companies) in the UK and called a prefab in Ireland (not to be confused with a prefabricated building) is a...
s, with no permanent buildings. There were only some twelve toilets each for boys and for girls. The only drinking fountains were outside, fed by pipes laid on top of ground, so that the water was usually too hot to drink. There were no trees or grassy areas on the school grounds, and no lunch room. Liberty City Elementary was one of the few schools in the (county-wide) school district
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and the fourth largest in the United States, with a student enrollment of 380,006 as of July 5, 2010...
holding two half-day sessions.
Range led 125 African-American parents from the school to a meeting of the school board to present their demands for improvements to the school. After delaying the start of the meeting for an hour, the board heard Athalie Range speak. Much to her surprise, the board agreed to make improvements. They ordered hot meals to be provided by a near-by white school to Liberty City Elementary, moved another portable to the school to use in serving the hot lunches, and began construction of a new, permanent school building, the first school for African-Americans built in the district in twenty-one years. Althalie Range continued to serve as President of school and county-wide PTAs for sixteen years.
City Commission
In 1965 Alice Wainwright, who was the first woman to serve on the Miami City Commission, decided to not seek re-election. Athalie Range became a candidate for the vacant seat, the first African-American to run for the City Commission. She won a plurality in the primary electionPrimary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, although not a majority. In the runoff election
Two-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
, Range's opponent, a white man named Irwin Christie, sent a sound truck through white neighborhoods the day before the election broadcasting the message that if the white people did not get out and vote, they would have a black woman making laws for them. Athalie Range would later say, "His campaign decided to play the race card
Race card
Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to exploitation of either racist or anti-racist attitudes to gain a personal advantage, typically by falsely accusing others of racism against oneself.-Usage:...
, which took me out of contention." Many black voters had been allowed to take time off from work to vote in the primary, but were not allowed to do so for the runoff. Range lost the runoff, receiving about 17,000 votes, while Christie received about 18,000. Christie later apologized to Range for the way he had run his campaign, and she accepted the apology.
In 1966 one of the city commissioners resigned his seat, possibly with the encouragement of Miami Mayor Robert King High
Robert King High
Robert King High was a reform Mayor of Miami, Florida from 1957 until his death, and the Democratic Party nominee for governor of Florida in 1966.-Early years:...
. High was running for the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nomination for Governor of Florida at the time. He appointed Athalie Range to fill the unexpired term of the commissioner who had resigned. In 1967 and again in 1969 Athalie Range was reelected to the City commission. While on the commission, Range sought to have garbage collection improved in black neighborhoods, which sometimes went three weeks between garbage pickups, while white neighborhoods got twice a week pickups. After a vote on her proposed ordinance to equalize garbage service was twice postponed, Range had her neighbors brings bags of garbage to the commission meeting and dump them on the commissioners' desks. After that the ordinance was passed. She also pressed for tighter gun controls, but was able to get only part of what she wanted. After a fire caused by a kerosene heater
Kerosene heater
A kerosene heater, also known as a paraffin heater, is a portable, unvented, kerosene-fueled, space-heating device. In the United States they are used mainly for supplemental heat or as a source of emergency heat during a power outage. In some countries, particularly in Japan, they are used as...
killed eleven people in a house in a black neighborhood, Range led an effort to have such heaters banned in Miami.
Range approached City Manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
Melvin Reese about having an African-American police officer assigned to motorcycle patrol. When Reese resisted, Range made a deal with Mayor High; her vote for buying the land for the proposed Alice Wainwright Park in exchange for an African-American motorcycle patrolman. The first African-American motorcycle patrolman in Miami was Robert Ingraham, who later became Chief of Police and then Mayor of Opa-locka, Florida
Opa-locka, Florida
Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau....
When asked about her accomplishments in office, Range said, "There were so many inequities in those days that you could just reach out and pick something and change it."
Later accomplishments
In 1971 newly elected Florida Governor Reubin Askew appointed Athalie Range as Secretary of the Department of Community Affairs. She became the first African-American since Reconstruction and the first woman ever to head a state agency in Florida. As Secretary, she managed a department with 200 employees and a US$5.2 million annual budget. She remained in the position until 1973.Athalie Range was one of the first African-Americans in Florida to back Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
when he ran for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Range introduced Carter to African-American groups in Florida before he had announced his candidacy. President Carter later appointed Range to a two-year term on the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK)
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
governing board. In a little over thirty years she had gone from cleaning railroad cars to helping run AMTRAK.
In 1989 Athalie Range was once again appointed to fill a vacancy on the Miami City Commission. Athalie Range was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2004 she was still helping run the family funeral homes, and was serving as Chairman of the Virginia Key
Virginia Key
Virginia Key is a barrier island in Miami, Florida, United States in Biscayne Bay, south of Brickell and north of Key Biscayne. It accessible from the mainland via the Rickenbacker Causeway....
Beach Project, which was established to preserve the Virginia Key Beach Park, once the only public beach in Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
open to African-Americans.
Athalie Range Park, and the Athalie Range Olympic Swimming Complex are named after her. Athalie Range died November 14, 2006 in Miami, at the age of 91.