Milledgeville’s first Black state senator, mayor honored

Published 6:50 pm Monday, March 1, 2021

Floyd L. Griffin Jr. was honored in downtown Milledgeville Saturday afternoon.

The first Black man elected to the Georgia Senate from Milledgeville and the first to ever be elected mayor of the city that once served as Georgia’s capital was recognized with the unveiling of a street and plaza in his honor. 

Griffin’s legacy will forever be remembered with the renaming of West McIntosh Street in his name and a rededication of the Black Heritage Plaza at Allen’s Market, which will now be known as Floyd L. Griffin Jr. Black Heritage Plaza.

The ceremony honoring Griffin, a retired Army colonel who flew combat helicopter missions during the Vietnam war, and who later became a football coach and author of two books, was co-sponsored by the city of Milledgeville and the Baldwin County Branch No. 5169 of the NAACP.

The ceremony drew several local prominent leaders, including Baldwin County Commissioner Emily C. Davis; Baldwin County Sheriff Bill Massee; Milledgeville Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan; City Alderman Walter Reynolds; Georgia College President Steve Dorman and his wife; and many others.

Griffin said during his military career that he used to work with an officer who said when they did something really big, “This is strictly big time.”

He reiterated it from his own mouth Saturday.

“This is strictly big time,” said Griffin, who will celebrate his 77th birthday in a few months.

Griffin quoted the late Eleanor Rosevelt in his remarks.

“I’m going to bring it in reverse of what she said,” Griffin said. “Small minds discuss people. Y’all think about that. All these people get out here and all they’re doing is talking about people. Small minds. Average minds discuss events. And that’s too bad. But great minds discuss ideas.”

Griffin said he wanted everyone to know that while he was being singled out as honoree, it wasn’t totally about him.

“It’s about the people who walked this street, from this block down to Montgomery Street, which was part of the Black historical district, and from this street almost halfway up to where Old Capitol Drug Store and on back was part of the historical street,” Griffin said.

The former mayor said he was bringing some of the rich histories up because there are Black people in Milledgeville who aren’t aware of it.

“So, what’s happening today, I had nothing to do with it,” Griffin said. “God had his hands in this.”

It all began when he was born in 1944.

He later went to Tuskegee University where he became involved in the civil rights movement, met his wife, and then join the Army and spent 23 years there.

“When I left Birmingham, Ala., where my family was staying at the time, I told Nathalie, don’t you worry, I’m coming back. Don’t you worry. God had something to do with that. He had a vision.”

Griffin explained this was not the first time that he had been honored for being the first Black man to reach a milestone achievement.

“Almost every major position I had in the military, I was the first African-American,” Griffin said. 

He said he had the opportunity to teach at a majority-white university, as well as a majority Black university in their ROTC Departments at the same time. He also had the opportunity to coach football as an Army officer.

“Now, that was unheard of at the same time on two undefeated football teams,” Griffin said.

He also was inducted into the Winston-Salem State University Athletic Hall of Fame as a coach.

Griffin is also a member of the ROTC Hall of Fame at his college alma mater.

Mayor Parham-Copelan welcomed everyone to Saturday’s ceremony.

The mayor said it was all fitting and proper to honor a man who has accomplished and achieved so much in life to honor him during Black History Month.

“I often say that Black history cannot be taught in one month, but because of the prominence of the dedication and struggles from days of old to the present moment, we should recognize and salute the diligent effort of all,” Parham-Copelan said. “Today, we recognize a man born and raised right here in the city of Milledgeville.”

 After his retirement as a colonel from the Army, Griffin thought it an obligation to come home and serve his community, the mayor said.

“A history-maker, a trailblazer in his own right went on to become the city’s first African-American mayor,” Parham-Copelan said. “Not only did this history-maker leave his footprint and legacy, he went on to become the first African-American senator from the city of Milledgeville.”

For many years after his 23-year military career, Griffin worked at the family-owned business, Slater’s Funeral Home. 

The mayor also pointed out that Griffin served as an ambassador for the Baldwin County School District helping to ensure the community prospered in every way possible.

Every year the month of February is set aside to honor the accomplishments and achievements of African-Americans “whose struggles have allowed us as African-Americans to have our seat at the table and to be part of the conversation,” Parham-Copelan said. “So, today, as I welcome each of you, I also charge you as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbors, and mentors to ensure that Black history isn’t just talked about for one month, but speak up, stand up, and speak out that our heritage and our history is taught every month from the history book pages all over America. Teach our children that they have so much history in the city of Milledgeville and to be proud of those who have paved the way for their brighter tomorrow. We salute an extraordinary history maker and trailblazer today, Mr. Floyd L. Griffin Jr. on his many accomplishments and achievements to the (belief) of a better tomorrow and the struggles we face today to enhance the movement of the African-American people.”

The mayor also thanked members of the Milledgeville City Council and City Manager Hank Griffeth for their involvement with the special day honoring Griffin. She also thanked George Hogan, president of the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) for their support of the special day.

The Rev. Alan Wicker later offered a prayer during the ceremony.

In his prayer, Wicker asked God to let everyone become one as a community united.

“We are here today to give honor and pay tribute to the honorable Floyd Griffin for his untiring efforts to bring about peace and harmony as he served his country, this community, and mankind, collectively,” Wicker said. “Thank you for allowing Floyd Griffin to be a role model for all generations. Continue God to bless his efforts.”

Wicker also prayed for peace, harmony and commitment to work toward the removal of all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes.

Jon C. Peeler then led those in attendance with the singing of the Negro National Anthem.

Cynthia Ward-Edwards, president of the local branch of the NAACP, also addressed the crowd.

“What a great day to be in the city of Milledgeville, Ga., celebrating the dedication of this street and the rededication of this part to honor our first Black mayor, Mr. Floyd L. Griffin Jr. Ward-Edwards said.

She said the street and area were once occupied by thriving Black-owned businesses.

Ward-Edwards thanked city officials for believing in the mission of the local NAACP.

“We appreciate that,” Ward-Edwards said. “That’s what comes with working together. We’ve got to start working together. I’ll say it again, we have got to work together. This is Milledgeville and Baldwin County, unique in its own way.”

Ward-Edwards said Griffin was being honored, but that she and other members of the local NAACP also wanted to honor others who at one time owned and operated businesses and those who shopped at those businesses in the area of what will now be known as Floyd L. Griffin Jr. Black Heritage Plaza.

“Thank you, Mr. Floyd L. Griffin Jr., former mayor of the city of Milledgeville, former Georgia State Senate District 25, colonel, former business owner, author, husband, father, grandfather and friend for paving the way,” Ward-Edwards said. “We appreciate you.”

The unveilings of the new street sign and the new plaque on the Black Heritage Plaza monument beside Allen’s Market were then held, with Griffin standing beside his wife, Nathalie, as black cloths were removed to reveal a lasting tribute to Griffin.

 Clarence Hall, who serves as vice president of the local NAACP, later presented Griffin a framed picture of the area that was once a thriving area for Black businesses and shoppers in downtown Milledgeville.

“This is definitely a surprise from the standpoint of presenting it,” Griffin said. “And I appreciate it. And we will make sure that this will be a part of our home memoirs and legacy.”

Many historic items about Griffin are prominently featured in the library museum at Georgia College.

“The goal and the objective is to put a mural on this wall over here,” Griffin said, referring to the outside wall of Allen’s Market facing the Milledgeville Police Department.

It will depict how things used to look on McIntosh Street.

“We’re going to do this through the NAACP,” Griffin said, noting that he and his wife would make the first significant financial contribution toward the mural.

He predicts that the new mural will be showcased by next February.

“No later than next February, during Black History Month, we want to have that mural and this whole wall really fixed up,” Griffin said. “So, let’s pull together and make that happen.”