Recollections of the Orlando, Florida, Civil Rights Movement

In completing my master's thesis on the Orlando, Florida Civil Rights Movement, a number of resources were critical to bringing the thesis to a successful conclusion. Chief among these resources were the oral interviews graciously provided by African-American community members. Each interviewee was very frank and forthcoming in their interviews, and each gave permission to use any and all of their interviews in furtherance of conducting research and publishing my work. After considerable revision and exceptional assistance from my advisors, the thesis was completed and was extremely well-received. The aforementioned interviews were integral to the success of the thesis. I am very gratified that the thesis formed the framework for my subsequently published monograph, The Orlando, Florida, Civil Rights Movement: A Case Study in Communication and Cooperation, 1951- 1971. The monograph is available on Amazon and numerous other online retailers, the Orange County Regional History Center, as well as the Orlando Public Library and other institutions as reference material. As noted above, the oral interviews were integral to the success of my master's thesis. However, the parameters of the thesis by necessity dictated that many observations and insights offered in the interviews were excluded. It is my hope that this work will bring to light the full spectrum of amazing insights of the interviewees and thus more firmly and broadly preserve an important oral history of the Orlando, Florida, Civil Rights Movement. I should also mention that the audio recordings of the interviews are available in their entirety for those who wish to listen to them. The links to the interviews are provided The Orlando, Florida, Civil Rights Movement: A Case Study in Communication and Cooperation, 1951-1971 and this work. This work is designed to be a companion piece to The Orlando, Florida, Civil Rights Movement: A Case Study in Communication and Cooperation, 1951-1971. It is my hope that these works together will assist the scholar and layperson alike in developing a better understanding of the Orlando, Florida, Civil Rights Movement and a firm appreciation for those with the courage to positively change their community, especially the pioneering first African-American police officers with the Orlando Police Department. Their courage and service under immensely difficult conditions proved instrumental in furthering the Orlando, Florida, Civil Rights Movement, as prominently noted in the interviews contained herein. -Fred Altensee, M.A.