Biography
Patricia Stephens Due
As one of the leading civil rights activists in the nation, Patricia Stephens Due has devoted her life to social justice and equality. At age thirteen, she defied Jim Crow and a “COLORED ONLY” sign by standing in a segregated line at a south Florida Dairy Queen. At age nineteen, she and her sister Priscilla Stephens established a Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) chapter in Tallahassee, Florida. And at age twenty, she organized a protest that became a watershed moment in the civil rights movement.
In 1960, Due led her sister and three other students from Florida A&M University in a
lunch counter sit-in at a Woolworth’s store in Tallahassee. They were arrested for their actions,
and told they could either pay a fine, or go to jail. They chose jail. Ultimately, the forty-nine days
they spent behind bars generated national and international media coverage, and even drew
the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On March 19, 1960, the jailed students received a
telegram from Dr. King that offered words of encouragement:
"I have just learned of your courageous willingness to go to jail instead of paying fines for your righteous protest against segregated eating facilities. Through your decision you have again proven that there is nothing more majestic and sublime than the determined courage of individuals willing to suffer and sacrifice for the cause of freedom. You have discovered anew the meaning of the cross, and as Christ died to make men holy, you are suffering to make men free. As you suffer the inconvenience of remaining in jail, please remember that unearned suffering is redemptive. Going to jail for a righteous cause is a badge of honor and a symbol of dignity. I assure you that your valiant witness is one of the glowing epics of our time and you are bringing all of America nearer [to] the threshold of the world's bright tomorrows."
While this jail-in was a critical moment for the movement, it was just the beginning of
Due’s commitment to civil rights. Through protests, marches, boycotts, voting drives, lectures,
presentations, and workshops, Due has inspired young generations of black and white students.
She has been honored with multiple awards including the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for
Outstanding Leadership, the Gandhi Award for Outstanding Work in Human Relations, and the
Florida Freedom Award from the NAACP. Although she was suspended several times as an
undergraduate student for her activism in the 1960s, she was awarded an honorary doctorate
from her alma mater Florida A&M University.
John Due
Attorney John Dorsey Due, Jr. has devoted his life to civil rights advocacy and activism. Beginning at age fourteen, when he became a member of the Youth Council of the NAACP, Due has participated in some of the most seminal episodes of the movement.
In 1961, while still a law student, he was a member of the CORE Freedom Rides testing
the prohibition of segregation in interstate transportation—taking his textbooks along on the
bus to not fall behind with his studies. Shortly after marrying Patricia Stephens in January 1963
he became a co-defendant in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Due v. Tallahassee
Theaters, where the U.S. Supreme Court ordered that no state could interfere with non-violent
protesters exercising their freedom of speech. After passing the bar he argued Florida v.
Hayling, a case involving friends that were almost burned alive at a Ku Klux Klan rally, and later
he become a part of the first integrated law firm in the state of Florida.
Over the course of his career Due has been retained as counsel on many important court cases, voting projects, and labor initiatives. He has organized community action programs in the war on poverty in many North Florida counties, and has been instrumental in voter education. After establishing a private law practice, Due went on to a distinguished career in county government that spanned over thirty years. He has left a legacy of public service that still resonates today, and has been recognized with many awards including the Chancey Eskridge Distinguished Barrister Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Martin Luther King “Keepers of the Dream Award” from the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County, and the “Foot Soldiers Award” from the NAACP.
The words of Monica Russo, President of Local 1199 of the Florida Services Employees International Union, and Co-Chair and Co-Founder of South Florida Jobs with Justice, best summarize Due’s involvement and commitment: “John Due epitomizes a grass-roots activism— his mission is the empowerment of disenfranchised communities—not credit or glory for the work he does. He has dedicated his life to fighting against racism and fighting for our children to have quality education, for workers to have the right to a decent way of life, basically for equality."
