LeRoy Collins was fearless. Born in Tallahassee, he was the president of the Leon High School class of 1927 and went on to become not only a favorite son of Tallahassee but one of the principal architects that led Florida into modern politics.
Leroy Collins was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1934 at age 25; a time when most young men are trying to figure out what to do with themselves. While being a champion for education, he also fought to outlaw slot machines which had become prevalent in the southeast part of the state and controlled by organized crime.
Elected to the Florida Senate, both before and after service in the Navy during World War II, he led efforts in women’s rights. Fearless for 1930’s Florida.
After being elected Florida’s 33rd governor in 1954, upon the abrupt death of then Governor Daniel McCarty, he assumed office in 1955 and was reelected in 1956 to serve the first of two terms.
The landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, integrating public schools, settled into Florida during his first full term. While history reflects that he initially condemned the decision, in support of states’ rights, he fought with the Florida Legislature to try to prevent them from passing an “interposition” resolution.
This resolution would indicate the intent of the legislature to “interpose” itself between the citizens of Florida and the United States government to prevent what the legislature contended was an illegal intrusion upon the rights of the state by imposing integration.
Gov. Collins referred to a provision in Section 10 of Article IV of the state Constitution (prior to the 1968 Constitutional revision) to unilaterally adjourn the legislature to prevent it from passing the resolution. After the legislature returned later and passed the resolution, the governor had no power to veto it as it was not a bill.
Instead of simply signing the resolution, he wrote his objection in his own handwriting for future scholars stating, in relevant part, “…if this resolution declaring the decisions of the court to be ‘null and void’ is to be taken seriously, it is anarchy and rebellion against the nation which must remain ‘indivisible under God’ if it is to survive…I decry it as an evil thing, whipped up by the demagogues and carried on the hot and erratic winds of passion, prejudice, and hysteria…”
Absolutely fearless.
While governor, Collins was elected to Chair the Democratic National Convention and presided over John F. Kennedy’s nomination for the Democratic candidate for president in 1960.
Fast forward years later when I was a young patrol sergeant with the Tallahassee Police Department. Gov. Collins was living in his ancestral family home, The Grove, that is situated close to the Governor’s Mansion. One night a burglary alarm activated in a business on North Monroe Street, adjacent to The Grove.
Being close, I responded and arrived just as a suspect was running out of the back of the business. One of the things that you learn as a police officer, especially after you struggle to get unstrapped from a police vehicle wearing a 26-pound gun belt, is that everyone, and I mean everyone, can run faster than you. So, I was chasing the suspect when he leaped over the fence bordering The Grove.
Close behind, I attempted to bound over it like a Florida deer but predictably got tangled up resulting in a nose dive into the ground. These days it would take a ladder, ten minutes, and a friend standing by with a phone in case an ambulance had to be called to negotiate a fence like that. The expansive backyard of The Grove had countless places to hide and looking around I noticed Gov. Collins sitting in the glass sunroom reading.
It’s not always a good idea to be running around someone’s private property at night without their knowledge so I walked up to the sunroom and knocked on the door while shining my flashlight on my uniform. The governor answered the door with a gracious greeting just like something like this happened every night.
After I explained the situation, and the risks, instead of disappearing into the house he got a flashlight and came outside with me. And so, there I was with the two-term governor of Florida and Chairman of the Democratic National Convention who presided the year that John F. Kennedy was nominated for the Presidency, as my back-up.
Fearless.
By the way, the suspect got away. I think it had something to do with my nosedive.
David Brand is a retired police officer who works for a nonprofit that represents the interests of law enforcement. He lives in St. Teresa Beach, Florida.