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.
Read more about this topic: Willis V. Mc Call
Famous quotes containing the word children:
“Before I had my first child, I never really looked forward in anticipation to the future. As I watched my son grow and learn, I began to imagine the world this generation of children would live in. I thought of the children they would have, and of their children. I felt connected to life both before my time and beyond it. Children are our link to future generations that we will never see.”
—Louise Hart (20th century)