Willis V. Mc Call - The Platt Children

The Platt Children

In 1954, McCall again brought national attention to Lake County when he was asked by the school board to uphold their decision to ban five children from a white public school in Mount Dora after parents and teachers suspected them to be "Negro". Birth and school records from their native state had the Platt children listed as caucasian, and State Attorney Jesse Hunter represented the Platts in a case before Judge Truman Futch. McCall was accused of making speeches about this incident to the National Association for the Advancement of White People. But threats and violence against the Platts forced the children to enroll in the Mt. Dora Christian Home and Bible School, a private school not subject to segregation laws in place at the time. On October 18, 1955, a court ruled that the children could attend white public school. By then the Platt family had decided to move away from Florida.