PROGRAM SUCCESS – MAY 2009
PAGE 15
Jacksonville’s NAACP President
Rutledge Henry Pearson
His Role in the 100 Years of Change
Cost Him His Life
By Patricia Pearson
Guest Columnist
Jacksonville, Florida
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, known as the NAACP,
was founded on February 12, 1909 on the 100th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s
birth. Who would think we would be celebrating the election of a Black President, 100
years later. On February 12, 2009, we celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the NAACP
and the 200th Birthday of President Lincoln. The founders of the NAACP would be
amazed that these two events in American history would occur within a month of the
inauguration of President Barack Obama, a senator from Illinois and now our nation’s
first African American President.
In 2009, as we celebrate these special events, we, also, reflect on our past. Many
of us will think about the turbulent times of the 1950’s and 60’s. In Jacksonville
Florida, a few of us will remember the role Rutledge Henry Pearson played in
making Jacksonville a better place to live.
Rutledge Henry Pearson was a young black man, who loved his hometown
of Jacksonville and envisioned that this city could become a place where
people of all colors could live, work, and love in harmony and peace.
He was a man of ideas, who could motivate people of all ages,
races, and income to join him in knocking down the barriers of racial segregation and ignorance. He was a
spiritual man who kept God first in his life,
knowing all things were possible
through prayer and faith.
Jacksonville of the past was a
typical segregated Southern city.
This meant separate public schools,
churches, hospit