PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — The fifth panel of Punta Gorda’s Black History Mural depicts the first five Black students to walk through the doors of Charlotte High School, effectively ending segregated schools in Charlotte County.
Despite the supreme court ruling that segregated public schools were unconstitutional in 1954, Black students in Charlotte County could attend the Baker Academy in Punta Gorda. If a student wanted to get a high school education, they had to bus down to Dunbar in Fort Myers.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk report on the Charlotte High Five:
That changed when Black community leaders lobbied for the Charlotte County School Board to allow Black students to attend Charlotte High School during a series of school board meetings. The board agreed to allow Black students to apply for admission based on performance, and out of 16 applications, five were accepted.
In 1963, those five brave students walked through the doors of Charlotte High School, crossing a line that hadn’t been crossed before.
One of those students was Isaac Thomas Jr., Fox 4 spoke with his son Demetrius about his father’s experience.
“They were excited, but yet a little fearful as well,” said Demetrius. “He was saying that once he got up there, there were some negative things being said, but once they got past the doors the kids and the teachers were welcoming to them.”
The moment the students walked through the school’s doors is on display forever through the mural, something Demetrius said should serve as a reminder to remember the history of the fight for equality in education.
“It's something I even tell my kids, someone has paved the way for you all,” said Demetrius. “So, not to take school and education for granted.”
Demetrius told Fox 4’s Alex Orenczuk during a trip to the wall that he was proud of his father and the legacy he left.
“It's amazing, and I feel honored that I'm the son of someone who actually broke the barriers,” said Demetrius.
Later, his father would serve in Vietnam before coming back to Punta Gorda. He would then become the longtime director of the historic Cooper Street Rec Center, and the pastor of St. Mary Baptist Church.
“He was a wonderful guy and I'm not just saying that because he was my dad,” Demetrius said of his father. “He had a big heart and a love for not only his family but for his members and the whole community.”
Thomas passed in 2020, and Demetrius has since taken up his place at the pulpit of the church.
