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Tallahassee’s Civil Rights Couple Gets Their Due
TALLAHASSEE’S CIVIL RIGHTS
COUPLE GETS THEIR DUE BY [ L.A. CARROLL AND Andrew J. SKERRITT ]
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 Recreation 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.
Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey and City Commissioners joined FAMU President Larry Robinson and Jacqueline Perkins, the only survivor of the Perkins’ five children to unveil the new Robert and Trudie Perkins Way sign. CREDIT: CHRISTIAN WHITAKER
with dignity,” said Mayor John Dailey.
fights for fair employment practices, equal rights and justice continued.
The idea to honor the couple in their former neighborhood by naming a street after them was conceptualized by local residents. President Robinson sent a letter to the City Commission in support of the name change.
“Gracing our campus with the new Robert and Trudie Perkins Way gives us the honor of recognizing a husband-and-wife team who contributed so much to positive change in this community,” Robinson said. “They were tireless in their advocacy and relentless in their fight for social justice and economic equality.”
On July 13, 2021, the Leon County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to rename Gamble Street for the couple as “indeed a fitting and proper tribute to the two FAMC graduates whose courageous actions led to the desegregation and diversification of the City of Tallahassee’s workforce. Their actions also impacted Leon County and the State of Florida.”
County officials past and present were among the participants of the renaming ceremony. Also present were Jacqueline Perkins, the only survivor of the Perkins’ five children, joined other relatives and other descendants at the event on the northwest corner of Wahnish Way and Robert & Trudie Perkins Way. She worked closely with local historian Delaitre Hollinger and Tallahassee City Commissioner Diane Cox-Williams for almost two years on the renaming project.
“My parents were not social climbers; they were just people trying to get things done. When they saw there was a problem, they sought to solve it,” Perkins said. “Sometimes, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. My parents did a lot of things that no one knew about. They taught us that there was never anything that you can’t do.”
Robert and Trudie Perkins had three sons, Robert Jr., Romerio and Reginuer, and two daughters, Loretta and Jacqueline. Robert Perkins died in 1994, his wife Trudie in 2011. The Robert and Trudie Perkins Foundation has been established to raise money for scholarships for FAMU students.
