Along The Heritage Walk sidewalk, you will pass an image of chairs at a counter. These chairs represent the day that 11 students from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and Florida State University (FSU) were arrested for sitting in a "whites only" Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Tallahassee. On February 20, 1960, these students were arrested for "disturbing the peace by riotous conduct" and "unlawful assembly" among other things. As the quote from The Heritage Walk shows ("Jail! No Bail!") the majority of the students chose to make a statement with their unjust arrest by spending 60 days in jail, refusing to pay the $300 fine.

 

Two of the students arrested were Patricia (pictured in the photo to the lower right, above the Tallahassee return button) and Priscilla Stephens, who were the founders and leaders of the CORE group at FAMU, which lead the sit-in. While in jail, Patricia wrote a letter about her views on civil rights and what she had experienced during her participation in the movement. Her letter was read by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jackie Robinson, two leaders of the national Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King actually replied to Patricia, encouraging her efforts. By 1964, both Martin Luther King and Jackie Robinson visited Florida to participate in the movement going on within our state. In fact, Dr. King was so inspired by Patricia's letter that he wrote a similar letter from prison in 1963.