The Florida Constitutional Convention met from June 9 through August 3, 1885, and of 63 elected delegates present, only seven were Black (during the 1868 Convention, 18 of 46 elected delegates were Black). The Constitution, adopted on August 3, 1885, required segregated public schools for Black and white students, which, invariably, meant disparities in resources and quality between Black and white schools. Note that this was 30 years after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board ruled segregated schooling unconstitutional.
In the lesson Freedom to Learn: The Battle Against Black Education Suppression Laws, Jesse Hagopian writes,
Florida’s 1885 Constitution was the state’s governing document for over 80 years, lasting until 1968. Because of the mass Civil Rights Movement, in 1968 Florida finally adopted a new constitution that significantly revised and replaced the 1885 Constitution. The new document aimed to modernize the state’s government structure, address civil rights issues, and eliminate the most egregious Jim Crow-era provisions, including those mandating racial segregation.
Additional Resources
Read the full Florida Constitution of 1885 (Florida State University Law School)
Florida’s Historical Constitutions (Florida Memory)
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