In a heartfelt reflection of defining events in his life, Dr. Arnett E. Girardeau hinted to three dozen Duval County Public Schools employees that he may have played a role in Barack Obama's election to the U.S. presidency.
Girardeau served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1976 to 1982 and later was elected Florida's first African American state senator since Reconstruction. He discussed his role in the redrawing of voting districts during his 16 years in Tallahassee. He said that the redistricting in the years that followed the passage of the National Voting Rights Act in 1965 created strong representation for African American voters in Jacksonville and elsewhere in Florida. This voting base played a significant role in Obama’s narrow presidential victory in the Sunshine State, Girardeau said.
Girardeau recounted how, in his youth, he and other African American students were asked to donate a dime to their teachers for such basic supplies as paper and pencils at their segregated school. He said that teachers in minority schools received a much lower salary than their white counterparts.
As a youngster who grew up in Jacksonville, “I wasn’t sure what segregation was. Nor did I know what discrimination was. What I did know is that I couldn’t go into certain sections of Jacksonville,” Girardeau said. He recounted how he retrieved his stolen bicycle from a downtown police station one warm, sunny day. On his way home, Girardeau stopped to admire two swans sunning in a downtown park. A white caretaker hurled a metal bucket at him and ordered “Get out of here” with a racial slur. “I left,” Girardeau said.
He also remembered the early events of the civil rights movement and offered details about what became known as Ax Handle Saturday on August 27, 1960. After staging sit-ins at downtown lunch counters, members of the Jacksonville Branch NAACP’s Youth Council were attacked by a mob wielding ax handles and baseball bats, Girardeau said.
The former legislator's informal talk on Feb. 24 was hosted by the Academic Services Division as part of DCPS’ celebration of Black History Month. DCPS Academic Services Specialist Paula D. Wright introduced Dr. Girardeau as someone who had a “direct effect” on her life. “Doc taught us how to run (political) campaigns, how to understand opponents, and how to rise above, as well as patience and persistence,” Wright said.
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