Patricia Stephens Due
Encyclopedia
Patricia Stephens Due is one of the leading African-American civil rights
activists in the United States, especially in her home state of Florida. Along with her sister Priscilla and others trained in nonviolent protest by CORE
, Due spent 49 days in the nation's first jail-in, refusing to pay a fine for sitting in
a Woolworth's "White only" lunch counter in Tallahassee, Florida in 1960. Her eyes were damaged by tear gas used by police on students marching to protest such arrests, so she has had to wear dark glasses the rest of her life. Due served in many leadership roles in CORE and the NAACP
, fighting against segregated stores, buses, theaters, schools, restaurants, and hotels, protesting unjust laws, and leading one of the most dangerous voter registration efforts in the country in northern Florida in the 1960s.
With her daughter, Tananarive
, Due wrote Freedom in the Family: a Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights, documenting the struggle she participated in, initially as a student at Florida A&M University
, and later working for civil rights organizations and Florida communities, sometimes in partnership with her husband, civil rights attorney John D Due, Jr. She has been an activist all her life and continues teaching the next generation about the fight for civil rights through speaking engagements.
Due's university studies were repeatedly interrupted by protests and arrests that sometimes got her suspended, as well as speaking and fund-raising tours. Though she entered Florida A&M University in 1957, she did not receive her degree until 1967.
The summer of 1959, the sisters attended a nonviolent resistance
workshop organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). On Feb. 20, 1960, eleven FAMU students, including Patricia and Priscilla, were arrested for ordering food at a "white only" Woolworth lunch counter. On March 12, dozens of FAMU and Florida State University students who participated in sit-ins at McCrory’s and Woolworth’s were arrested. A thousand students began marching from the FAMU campus toward downtown Tallahassee, but were stopped by Police officers with teargas. At the head of the march, Due was teargassed right in the face, and suffered permanent eye damage.
Due and the other sit-in participants were tried and found guilty on March 17, 1960. Eight refused to pay the $300 fine, deciding instead to go to jail. Eight students served 49 days at the Leon County Jail: FAMU students Patricia and Priscilla Stephens, John Broxton, Barbara Broxton and William Larkins, and three other students—Clement Carney, Angelina Nance, and 16-year-old high school student Henry Marion Steele (son of activist pastor Rev. C.K. Steele).
The "jail-in" gained nationwide attention, and the students received a supportive telegram from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Due sent a letter to baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson
, who published it in a column he wrote. Robinson later sent the jailed students diaries so they could write down their experiences. After the jail-in, Due and the others traveled the country in speaking tours to publicize the civil rights movement. Due met Eleanor Roosevelt
, author James Baldwin
, and many other activists on those tours. She went on to be jailed multiple times as a leader in the movement.
The National Hook-Up of Black Women Inc. also honored Patricia Stephens Due at its national convention in 2008.
The John Due and Patricia Stephens Due Freedom Endowed Scholarship provides $1000 annually to a FAMU student who plans to use the legacy of the civil rights movement to do their part to make a better nation.
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...
activists in the United States, especially in her home state of Florida. Along with her sister Priscilla and others trained in nonviolent protest by CORE
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
, Due spent 49 days in the nation's first jail-in, refusing to pay a fine for sitting in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
a Woolworth's "White only" lunch counter in Tallahassee, Florida in 1960. Her eyes were damaged by tear gas used by police on students marching to protest such arrests, so she has had to wear dark glasses the rest of her life. Due served in many leadership roles in CORE and the NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
, fighting against segregated stores, buses, theaters, schools, restaurants, and hotels, protesting unjust laws, and leading one of the most dangerous voter registration efforts in the country in northern Florida in the 1960s.
With her daughter, Tananarive
Tananarive Due
Tananarive Due is an American author.-Biography:Tananarive Priscilla Due was born in Tallahassee, Florida, the oldest of three daughters of civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due and civil rights lawyer John D. Due Jr...
, Due wrote Freedom in the Family: a Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights, documenting the struggle she participated in, initially as a student at Florida A&M University
Florida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, commonly known as Florida A&M or FAMU, is a historically black university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, the state capital, and is one of eleven member institutions of the State University System of Florida...
, and later working for civil rights organizations and Florida communities, sometimes in partnership with her husband, civil rights attorney John D Due, Jr. She has been an activist all her life and continues teaching the next generation about the fight for civil rights through speaking engagements.
Biography
Patricia Stephens was born on December 9, 1939 in Quincy, Florida to Lottie Mae Powell Stephens and Horace Walter Stephens. She was the second of three children. In 1963, She married Florida A&M University (FAMU) law student John D. Due, Jr., who went on to become a prominent civil rights attorney. They have three daughters.Due's university studies were repeatedly interrupted by protests and arrests that sometimes got her suspended, as well as speaking and fund-raising tours. Though she entered Florida A&M University in 1957, she did not receive her degree until 1967.
Civil rights activism
Due and her sister Priscilla started fighting segregation when Due was 13 by insisting on being served at the "white only" window of their local Dairy Queen, instead of the "colored" window.The summer of 1959, the sisters attended a nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. It is largely synonymous with civil resistance...
workshop organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). On Feb. 20, 1960, eleven FAMU students, including Patricia and Priscilla, were arrested for ordering food at a "white only" Woolworth lunch counter. On March 12, dozens of FAMU and Florida State University students who participated in sit-ins at McCrory’s and Woolworth’s were arrested. A thousand students began marching from the FAMU campus toward downtown Tallahassee, but were stopped by Police officers with teargas. At the head of the march, Due was teargassed right in the face, and suffered permanent eye damage.
Due and the other sit-in participants were tried and found guilty on March 17, 1960. Eight refused to pay the $300 fine, deciding instead to go to jail. Eight students served 49 days at the Leon County Jail: FAMU students Patricia and Priscilla Stephens, John Broxton, Barbara Broxton and William Larkins, and three other students—Clement Carney, Angelina Nance, and 16-year-old high school student Henry Marion Steele (son of activist pastor Rev. C.K. Steele).
The "jail-in" gained nationwide attention, and the students received a supportive telegram from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Due sent a letter to baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, who published it in a column he wrote. Robinson later sent the jailed students diaries so they could write down their experiences. After the jail-in, Due and the others traveled the country in speaking tours to publicize the civil rights movement. Due met Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
, author James Baldwin
James Baldwin
James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist and civil rights activist.James Baldwin may also refer to:-Writers:*James Baldwin , American educator, writer and administrator...
, and many other activists on those tours. She went on to be jailed multiple times as a leader in the movement.
Honors
Due has received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Outstanding Leadership, the Gandhi Award for Outstanding Work in Human Relations, and the Florida Freedom Award from the NAACP. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Florida A&M University.The National Hook-Up of Black Women Inc. also honored Patricia Stephens Due at its national convention in 2008.
Legacy
In February 2010, FAMU students gathered on campus to re-enact the sit-ins, jail-in, and protest march that had occurred 50 years previously in Tallahassee.The John Due and Patricia Stephens Due Freedom Endowed Scholarship provides $1000 annually to a FAMU student who plans to use the legacy of the civil rights movement to do their part to make a better nation.
Interviews
- Patricia Stevens Due and Tananarive Due on NPR, Fresh Air from WHYY, January 16, 2003 (Audio)
Works about Patricia Stephens Due
- The Letter from Leon County Jail: Patricia Stephens Due and the Tallahassee, Florida Civil Rights Movement] Master's thesis by Marna Rinaldo Weston, available through http://digitool.fcla.edu/