Since the beginning of the 2020 redistricting cycle, the ACLU of Florida has worked across North Florida to help small counties update their maps through redistricting, the process of redrawing congressional, state legislative or local districts to account for population growth or loss. Many of North Florida’s smallest counties and cities of which have not been updated since the 1980s. We’re proud of these efforts, which have increased Black voting power in some of the most neglected communities in North Florida.
But we would be shortsighted not to thank and highlight some of the amazing Black women who have led this project and get minimal credit not just for their efforts in redistricting, but for being leaders in their communities.
We honor their leadership, commitment, and advocacy for their communities.
Linda Franklin
Ms. Franklin is the former President and current 3rd Vice President of the Jackson County NAACP. The leader heard Jackson County had plans to redraw local maps and swung into action. Ms. Franklin, partnering with the ACLU of Florida, convinced the county and school district to adopt a plan protecting Black representation for years to come. We salute Ms. Franklin for her leadership and are proud to have worked with her.
Carolyn Spooner
Ms. Spooner is currently the first Black woman to serve on the Bradford County Commission. Born in Starke, Ms. Spooner has been a cornerstone in her community. In 1986, she was a plaintiff in the landmark class-action lawsuit which dismantled Bradford County’s discriminatory electoral system and permitted Black voters to participate equally in local politics for the first time since Reconstruction. But, she did not stop there. Ms. Spooner went on to serve on the Bradford County Historical Board and the Governor’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Commission. She was elected to and served on the Starke City Commission for 13 years and was chosen by her colleagues to be the Mayor for three terms. In 2020, she became the first Black woman elected to the County Commission, which she now chairs.
Ms. Spooner helped to make Bradford County maps more equitable, and she was instrumental in persuading the board to redistrict, ensuring Black voters have equitable representation on the County Commission and School Board. We thank her for her work.
VeEtta Hagan
Ms. Hagan currently serves on the Madison County School Board in District 3. She was elected to the School Board in 2014 and again in 2022. She was instrumental in leading the audit of former Madison County football coach Mike Coe, who stole thousands of dollars in district money. Ms. Hagan was crucial in leading the County Commission and School Board to help preserve and strengthen Black voting power, successfully pushing both boards to adopt a plan with two majority-Black seats, as the Voting Rights Act requires. We are grateful for her.
Shirley Scott
Ms. Scott was born and raised in Perry, Florida. Growing up in the Jim Crow South, Ms. Scott speaks frequently about the challenges she encountered. From being banned from walking certain streets on Election Day, to being deprived of paved roads or indoor plumbing by an all-white government that ignored her segregated neighborhood, Ms. Scott was undeterred. In her early years, she was a beloved school teacher in Perry.
Ms. Scott expanded her career in education to community activism. In 1983, she helped organize four civil rights lawsuits in her community. One of those lawsuits was against the county for inadequately funding infrastructure in Black neighborhoods, and three others against Taylor County, the school district, and the City of Perry for maintaining discriminatory election systems that deprived Black voters of equal representation.
All four lawsuits were successful. Ms. Scott went on to serve on the Perry City Council, becoming one of its first Black council members.
Ms. Scott lives a happy life in retirement now, helping advocate for a new fair Taylor County Commission map this year. We thank her for everything she has done, a true pioneer in her community.
These are some of the Black leaders who have carried these redistricting efforts to course. We also thank Thomas Demps, Deidra Dunnell, Carolyn Donaldson, Clarice Cooper, and so many more.
The ACLU of Florida is proud of the work we have done in the state's rural areas and small towns, meeting with and learning about leaders in these communities. However, with the tireless work of these formidable Black women, the movement for voting rights has remained alive and well.
Joe Dye is a legal program associate and redistricting data analyst for the ACLU of Florida.
