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Pasco's Black Schools Prepared Students For Life

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 9, 2007

When I was a youngster, there was a saying that we loved to recite, and it went something like this: "Never judge a book by its cover because you may miss out on some good reading." That is the way I feel about the history of black schools in Pasco County, because you could easily be misled into thinking they were not up to par. Compared to instruction today, I would have to beg your pardon.

Moore-Mickens Education Center is the best known of the local black schools, but there were others.
Floyd Academy was a four-room school that taught first- through eighth-graders in Lacoochee's Mosstown community from 1947 to 1970. All that remains of the school today is its concrete foundation, a few photographs, a commencement program and former students.

A school for blacks existed in Cummer and Sons Sawmill Housing Quarter, but the Rev. William E. Floyd wanted a better school. A school was established a stone's throw from the tracks and named in his honor, according to Theresa Pressley, a Lacoochee native, and Issac Whitter, a graduate of Floyd Academy.

There is no historical marker identifying the site. The proof of its existence is right there, though, in the photograph of Floyd Academy's chorus and the 1949 commencement program that lifelong Lacoochee resident Johnnie Mae Lopey has held onto for years.

Students Were Adequately Prepared

The program bears the names of those who were graduating, the names of the faculty and that of the principal.

Looking at the program, you get a sense of the times and the school. The simple document was typed on a manual typewriter. There was no graphic art on the cover or inside. There are typos and alignment problems.

You do get the feeling the students had been adequately prepared, though. The event was formal, and the staff expected the students to perform and look their very best.

Vera Lucas Goodwin, a member of one of Dade City's oldest black families, served as principal for 22 of the 23 years the school was open. She was also the school's musician and penmanship teacher. You can tell she had formal training from the commencement's musical repertoire, which was truly American. If you didn't know Floyd Academy was a black school, you would never know from any activity listed on the program. Goodwin and her staff were preparing students for life. I can see traces of a diverse education in the program.

Instead of the Negro spirituals - songs composed by slaves, often based on Biblical themes - the program is replete with European music composed by greats such as Franz Schubert and Carl Orff. The program has a liturgical feel to it and even includes the Sanctus, an ancient hymn sung in Latin.

'Black Aces'

The most well-known of the class of '49 was James "Mudcat" Grant, a two-time all-star major-league baseball player who won 20 games. He lives in California but comes back to visit frequently.

In his book "The Black Aces," Mudcat writes about Goodwin: "She never let the threadbare, impoverished conditions in our small schoolhouse dampen her passion for education or her passionate and loving drive to see her students learn and flourish. ... She was the one who identified and fostered my ability to sing and perform. ... She gave me my first record, a recording of Johann Strauss, and then gave me albums by Eddy Arnold and by John Lee Hooker."

Others are scattered about. Whitter, the class valedictorian, did a tour in the Air Force and eventually retired from the Department of Defense as a wastewater foreman at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. He remembers people such as teacher Etta Burks, who truly cared and loved her students. Whitter lives in Morrisville, N.J., and comes to Dade City annually.

Another member of the class, Mudcat's late brother-in-law, Willie Bernard Lopey, became known for his hairstyle. For years, he was easily recognized around town by his salt-and-pepper Afro. Even though the Afro gave way to the Jeri curl in the '80s, Bernard remained true to the Afro, even in death.

It's a good policy to get to know a person or community before you make a judgment about them. Who would have known that the staff at Floyd Academy would have put forth such a tremendous effort to prepare students for life?

Every class has a story to tell. Floyd Academy's is relevant to another generation. Pass it on.

Imani Asukile, a Hernando County native, is a longtime Dade City resident and one of the founders of the African American Heritage Society of East Pasco County. His column appears every other Friday. To suggest a future column, e-mail him at idasukile@yah

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