Dr. Patricia Stephens Due, who was a civil rights leader, died at the age of 72 on Tuesday. Due’s family said she battled “a determined and courageous fight against cancer.” Due began her career of activism in 1960, as a 20-year-old college student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), where she was a founding member of a local chapter, the Congress of Racial Equality. According to one of Due’s daughters, Johnita Due, Due, her sister, and three other FAMU students spent 49 days in jail after refusing to pay fines for sitting at a Woolworth lunch counter.
Jackie Robinson sent Due a diary to document her time in jail and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sent her a telegram of encouragement. “Going to jail for a righteous cause is a badge of honor and a symbol of dignity,” the letter stated. “I assure you that your valiant witness is one of the glowing epics of our time and you are bringing all of America (to) the threshold of the world’s bright tomorrows.” Her lifetime of advocacy will be remembered throughout Florida as she was recently honored by Tallahassee Mayor John R. Marks, who issued a proclamation ruling May 11, 2011 as “Patricia Stephens Due Day.”
