HomeMy WebLinkAboutLETTERThe family and friends of the late Frank Legree, Jr. would like to thank you for considering the
proposal to co -designate the streets of 55th Street between the avenues of 12th and 16th as Frank Legree, Jr.
Street. We are certain that you receive numerous petitions to this effect and cannot accommodateall
requests. Because of this reality, we also presume that you reserve this special honor for those who had
some positive impact on the culture, development, or general reputation of the city of Miami.
Fortunately, the life and legacy of Frank Legree, Jr. fits these characteristics.
Frank Legree, Jr. was born on December 26`h in the city of Jacksonville in 1928 to Frank Legree,
Sr. and Bessie Ruth Veal. Raised in Jacksonville, he worked most of his life as a blues singer, nightclub
emcee and radio disc jockey.. Miami was a great scene for someone like Frank who loved entertaining
people. He appeared in Miami with Ja77 greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Sammy
Davis, Jr. He was the master of ceremonies at noted Miami Night Clubs such as the Hampton House,
Booker Terrace, and Harlem Square. It was his desire to participate in the great American dream of
homeownership.A $100 loan.from his mother to realize that dream unwittingly placed him in the annals
of history.
Undoubtedly, slavery and its lingering effects are a dark stain to the beautiful fabric that makes
America the best country in the world. And when Frank moved into his two -bedroom home at 1455 NW
55th Street on January 12, 1957, he did not consider the implications of him moving into the then all -white
community of Orchard Villa. As he stated in a 2005 interview with the Miami Herald "[He] was just
trying to be, most of the houses on that block were up for sale, and we were told the whites were moving
out and it was opened up for colored folks to move in." Incidentally, by Frank moving his family into an
all -white neighborhood, his son was also one of only four black students to integrate the all -white
Orchard Villa Elementary School in 1958.
Today, society rallies behind pioneers who were first to demonstrate the true spirit of American
independence, justice, and rights. However, the experience itself is much easier to read about than to Iive.
Days after moving in, Frank and his family found themselves in the middle of a racial cauldron. Think
for a moment through the following scenarios: Remaining peaceful in the face of receiving death threats.
Embracing your family with calming words after bricks flew through your window, interrupting sound
sleep. Eating dinner while neighboring and out-of-town whites picketed outside your house, because you
simply want to live. Trashing letters stuffed with a newspaper article about what the Ku Klux Klan had
done to other black families that forgot their place; with an attached note stating "You're next". Telling
your family, that it's ok and nothing is going to happen. Then having to swallow hard in the face of your
loved ones, as three men from the Washington -based White Citizens Council are arrested for attempting
to burn a seven -foot tall cross dripping with kerosene in your front yard. All the while, keeping your wits
until one day the late great Martin Luther King, Jr. shows up to encourage you by saying "..remain
nonviolent Frank." Pioneer, yes. Easy, not at all.
Frank enjoyed people, and after moving on from entertaining in the nightlife, he moved people
during the day as a valet at Doral Country Club and a skycap at Miami International Airport. In his last
working years, he became a longshoreman on Miami's docks.
The city of Miami has a history of honoring those worthy of being honored by co -designating a
street to memorialize individuals. For example, Arnold M. Velazquez was a Hialeah engineer who spent
meaningful time helping the Boy Scouts —Arnold M. Velazquez Boulevard is Flagler Street between
West 72nd and 62°d Avenue. Carlos M. Quincoses was a civil leader who ran the Cuban -owned Super
Buffet Bakery —Carlos M. Quincoses Way is 28th Street from Northwest 22nd to 27th Avenue. Even the
Perry Ellis CEO & Chariman George Feldenkreis was honored for bringing an internationally renowned
clothing label and employment opportunity to Miami —George Feldenkreis Way is Southbound 107th
Avenue from Northwest 25th and 41' Streets. M. Athalie Range, a fellow black activist and first black to
serve on Miami's City Commission—M. Athalie Range Boulevard is Biscayne Boulevard from Northeast
54th Street to 96th Street. In that tradition, Miami now has the opportunity to honor Frank Legree, Jr., the
accidental activist who received a visit from the world -renown Martin Luther King, Jr. and credited by the
Black Archives History and Research Foundation of South Florida for transforming Liberty City.
Frank's family, friends, and society -at -large hopes that you will give serious consideration to
Frank's contributions to the culture, development, and reputation of the City of Miami by co -designating
the street of N.W.55th Street between the avenues of 12th and 16th as Frank Legree, Jr. Street
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