By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing
In the 1970s, 黑料网吃瓜爆料 history professors agreed they should find additional ways to serve the Tampa Bay community and state of Florida.
鈥淎 group of us decided to be more proactive in preserving history,鈥� said Steven Lawson, who was part of that assembly.
They did so through the still-standing tradition of collecting and preserving original records and recording oral stories related to local and state history.
One of the first narratives those professors preserved was how Tampa high school students took part in the 1960 non-violent sit-ins that desegregated the city鈥檚 lunch counters.
A Tampa sit-in. [Photo courtesy of 黑料网吃瓜爆料Tampa Library]
黑料网吃瓜爆料has continued to have a central role in ensuring future generations know that civil rights story, doing so through a historic marker, books and now a play and documentary.
In March at the Straz Center, the play, 鈥�,鈥� will begin its second public run and host private showings for students from more than 30 local schools. The Stageworks Theatre-produced play was written by a 黑料网吃瓜爆料faculty member and financed largely through 黑料网吃瓜爆料alumni, professors and boosters.
Tampa Bay鈥檚 WEDU PBS will broadcast a recording of the play later this year, along with a corresponding documentary featuring 黑料网吃瓜爆料faculty.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy they still have that mission of preserving history,鈥� said Lawson, now a former 黑料网吃瓜爆料professor. 鈥淭he sit-ins should not be forgotten.鈥�
On Feb. 29, 1960, NAACP Youth Council president Clarence Fort led a group of about 50 Black high school students to the downtown Tampa Woolworth where, during that era of segregation, they were allowed to shop but not sit for a meal. So, on that day, they protested by peacefully sitting at the lunch counter.
Sit-in participant Arthenia Joyner briefly followed the eyes of the bystanders.
鈥淭hey were on us, watching us, waiting to see what would happen next,鈥� the attorney and former state senator said. 鈥淭hey didn't have smiles on their faces. But we were focused on what we had to do so I then kept my eyes straight ahead.鈥�
Former state senator Arthenia Joyner
The next day, a larger student group protested Woolworth plus the nearby W.T. Grant and Kress stores. They had escorts too 鈥� Tampa police sent by Mayor Julian Lane who agreed it was time to desegregate the lunch counters and wanted it accomplished in a peaceful manner.
Tampa鈥檚 Bi-racial Commission, which was formed to address integration issues, then made a deal with the students: Cease the protests and work behind the scenes with the city and merchants to integrate the lunch counters. They agreed, and a few months later, Black residents were served.
There was some tension.
A customer spit on Fort during a sit-in.
And, two weeks after the student sit-ins, someone fired bullets into the Tampa home of Leon Lowry, then-state NAACP president. No one was harmed.
But overall, the process was peaceful.
鈥淚t was quite an accomplishment for Tampa considering it could have erupted as it did in other cities,鈥� Joyner said.
The significance of that peaceful transition was not lost on that group of 黑料网吃瓜爆料history professors in the 1970s. They recorded the oral histories of participants and collected records belonging to individuals such as Robert Saunders, civil rights-era NAACP president in Hillsborough County, and Cody Fowler, chairman of the Tampa Bi-racial Commission.
Those papers and interviews were then stored in USF鈥檚 Special Collections where they remain available to the public and were instrumental in the next steps to memorialize the sit-ins.
As part of her coursework to earn a master鈥檚 degree in digital journalism and design from 黑料网吃瓜爆料in 2017, Tammie Fields had to complete a digital multi-media project. Using USF鈥檚 archives for information, she designed a website that told the story of the sit-ins.
That led to her spearheading the successful effort to place a historic marker on the corner near the now-vacant Woolworth building on the corner of Polk and Franklin streerts in downtown Tampa.
鈥淭here was no physical reminder of the location where it happened,鈥� Fields said. 鈥淗aving a historic marker there seemed like the right thing to do.鈥�
In 2020, Andy Huse, curator for Florida Studies at the 黑料网吃瓜爆料Tampa Library, then released a book, 鈥�,鈥� which tells the history of Tampa through bars and eateries. The chapter on the sit-ins relies heavily on those 黑料网吃瓜爆料archives.
Steven Lawson
Andy Huse
Mark Leib
That led to the play written by Mark Leib, an assistant professor of instruction in USF鈥檚 Department of English.
鈥淚 read Andy鈥檚 book and realized that I鈥檇 gone to those lunch counters as a child in the 1960s but never knew the history,鈥� Leib said. 鈥淚 concluded that a lot of people probably didn鈥檛 know about the history, and it would be great subject matter for a play.鈥�
鈥淭his compelling drama brings to life the courageous stories of individuals who stood up against injustice and fought for equality through sit-ins that led to the desegregation of Tampa lunch counters in the 1960s,鈥� reads the play鈥檚 official synopsis. 鈥淭heir journey is one of resilience, solidarity, and unwavering belief in the power of justice.鈥�
Tammie Fields and the historic marker honoring the sit-ins. [Photo courtesy of Tammie Fields]
During its initial run in March 2023 at Stageworks Theatre, Fowler鈥檚 grandson, former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, was among those who attended a show.
鈥淚鈥檇 heard the stories from my grandfather but seeing it and him brought to life on stage really struck me,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 knew that more people needed to see it.鈥�
Davis put together a fundraising committee that includes 黑料网吃瓜爆料anthropology professor Cheryl Rodriguez, whose father Francisco Rodriguez was the local NAACP attorney during the sit-ins, 黑料网吃瓜爆料history professor Gary Mormino and former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who has a master鈥檚 degree in history from USF. They then raised about $500,000, which included a donation from 黑料网吃瓜爆料boosters Carol and Frank Morsani.
That money is funding production of five public shows in the Jaeb Theater of the Straz March 6-9 with more to be scheduled.
鈥淚鈥檓 so thankful for the play and everyone who came together to make this happen,鈥� said Lowry鈥檚 widow, Shirley Lowry. 鈥淚 am so thankful for 黑料网吃瓜爆料and all that they have done to keep the story alive. It鈥檚 an extraordinary story that everyone in Tampa needs to know.鈥�