TALLAHASSEE’S CIVIL RIGHTS COUPLE GETS THEIR DUE
BY [ L.A. CARROLL AND Andrew J. SKERRITT ]
Gamble Street Renamed Robert and Trudie Perkins Way
Robert and Trudie Perkins fought for civil rights in Tallahassee even at the cost of losing their jobs. The couple’s example of courage and commitment inspired others to join the fight to make their hometown a more equitable place to live, work and raise their families. CREDIT: JACKIE PERKINS
Florida A&M University administrators joined City of Tallahassee and Leon County officials and members of the community in a ceremony renaming Gamble Street to Robert and Trudie Perkins Way. The longtime Tallahassee community activists who were known as the “civil-rights power couple of Tallahassee,” were honored posthumously on Friday, Sept. 10, on what would have been their 75th silver wedding anniversary. “Robert and Trudie Perkins sought to make Tallahassee a more inclusive community, a place where everyone had opportunities to work and play with dignity,” said Mayor John Dailey, who spoke during the renaming ceremony. “Their legacy lives on, and it is my hope that having their names prominently featured on FAMU’s campus and in their former neighborhood serves as an inspiration to the next generation of leaders.” The street renaming marks a break with the city’s racial past. Gamble Street was named for slave owner Robert Gamble, a major in the Civil War. He operated a sugar plantation for 12 years near Sarasota, in Ellenton. Records show that in 1847, Gamble owned 70 slaves and, by 1855, that number had increased to 151. Deeply in debt, Gamble was forced to sell the plantation, including all of the slaves, in 1856 after sugar prices sank. A U.S. Army veteran of the Second World War, Robert graduated from Florida A&M College (FAMC) in 1947 with a degree in physics, auto mechanics and a minor in mathematics, subjects he later taught at FAMU and Florida State University. Trudie Mae Chester Perkins graduated from FAMU in 1944 with a degree in beauty culture. They were married on Sept. 10, 1946. In the early 1950s, Robert Perkins drove a truckful of Black children from the Bond community to some of the city’s white recreational facilities, a move that was met with strong opposition. In the end, Perkins’ activism led to the creation in 1954 of Jake Gaither Rec20 // FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY // A&M MAGAZINE
reation Center and Parks for Negros (now Jake Gaither Recreation Center and Golf Course). There were many other battles – some of which reached the U.S. Supreme Court, with Perkins representing himself all the way. Perkins taught mathematics and physics at his alma mater. He quit after being asked to sign a loyalty form, which would have been giving consent to segregation practices. Later, he also lost his job as the first Black director of the computer center at Florida State University. In the 1950s, Trudie Perkins operated beauty shops in the Bond community. In 1967, at age 46, she graduated from Lively Technical Center’s Licensed Practical Nursing Program. She was the only Black student in the class. She was the president of the Community Health Organization, which was organized in 1971 by Black nurses including Lizzie Smith to provide services to the area’s underserved population. Perkins was one of the first Black nurses to work at Tallahassee Memorial, and with coworker Smith, fought for better working conditions and pay for Black nurses. While eventually their efforts brought about significant change for others, they were fired. The couple soldiered on. They owned a convenience store on the corner of Wahnish Way and Osceola Street. She ran a hair salon on the property, which also was the only Black-owned gas station with three pumps. Their
Robert and Trudie Perkins at service station after restore.
