Florida State Teachers Association

The Florida State Teachers Association (FSTA) was an organization of Black educators, administrators, other staff, and parents in Florida.[1] African American teachers faced discrimination and underfunded schools. Educators in the group served as activists advocating for civil rights and educational opportunities.[2]

It was the largest teacher organization in Florida.[3] Hubert Humphrey prepared a speech to the group in 1964.[4] The group published the Florida State Teachers' Bulletin.

The Tampa branch helped organize the Turner v Keefe lawsuit targeting lower pay for Boack teachers.[5]

Emmett W. Bashful, a political scientist at Florida A& M University, sought to survey members about voter registration and voting by group members.[6]

The Florida Archives include a photo of the group's kitchen in Tallahassee.[7]

Edward Daniel Davis[8] and Gilbert Lawrence Porter were leaders in the group. A book discusses Porter's work[9] and a Miami elementary school is named for him.[10]

School boards closed schools for African Americans and many black teachers and administrators lost their jobs.[11]

## Further reading[edit]

* The History of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University by Leedell Wallace Neyland and John W. Riley, University of Florida Press (1963)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Black Educators: Florida's Secret Social Justice Advocates, 1920-1960". exhibits.uflib.ufl.edu.
2. ^ Houchen, Diedre Faith (November 26, 2020). "An "Organized Body of Intelligent Agents," Black Teacher Activism during "De Jure" Segregation: A Historical Case Study of the Florida State Teachers Association". Journal of Negro Education. 89 (3): 267–281. JSTOR 10.7709/jnegroeducation.89.3.0267 - via ERIC.
3. ^ Emmons, Caroline (2003). ""Not a Single Battle but Rather a Real War": The Fight to Equalize Teachers' Salaries in Florida in the 1930s and 1940s". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 81 (4): 418–439. JSTOR 30150945 - via JSTOR.
4. ^ http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00442/pdfa/00442-01305.pdf
5. ^ Shircliffe, Barbara J. (February 26, 2012). "Rethinking Turner v. Keefe: The Parallel Mobilization of African-American and White Teachers in Tampa, Florida, 1936–1946". History of Education Quarterly. 52 (1): 99–136. doi:10.1111/j.1748-5959.2011.00374.x. S2CID 142501177 - via Cambridge University Press.
6. ^ "The Florida Legislative Investigation Committee (FLIC) · A University in Transition: The Long Path to Integration · A University in Transition: The Long Path to Integration". universityintransition.omeka.net.
7. ^ "Florida Memory • Interior view showing kitchen at the Florida State Teachers Association building in Tallahassee, Florida".
8. ^ "Edward Daniel Davis". The Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame.
9. ^ Porter, Dr Gilbert L. "Dr. Gilbert L. Porter". Dr. Gilbert L. Porter.
10. ^ "About Us". mysite.
11. ^ "Teachers: Segregation by Integration". Time. 18 June 1965.