Governor LeRoy Collins, His Life & Legacy

Governor LeRoy Collins's lifelong dedication to doing what was right helped to change not only the face of Florida, but that of a nation. He set an example of principled leadership still admired today. In his honor and for the people of Florida, the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library, with funding from the Florida Humanities Council, has produced the traveling exhibit Governor Leroy Collins, His Life and Legacy. This exhibit is available free of charge to public libraries and museums.

More information about LeRoy Collins is available on the Internet in the University of South Florida Library's Special Collections.

The following list presents available resources are readily accessible through most public libraries. For more information or assistance, please contact your local reference librarian. These materials can be obtained by interlibrary loan through traditional sources if not available locally.

MATERIALS FOR ADULTS


Civil Rights
  • Chapman, Julia. A Southern Moderate Advocates Compliance: a study of LeRoy Collins as Director of the Community Relations Service. 1974.
  • Collins, LeRoy. A Conversation with LeRoy Collins: Civil Rights and the Community Relations Service. 1965. 
  • Collins, LeRoy - The Great Floridians series, videocassette.
  • Crowley, E. Brian. "LeRoy Collins: A Courage to Consider Civil Rights." The Post-W. Palm Beach, FL. 19 May, 1985, Section F, p.1.
  • Fanning, Sandra L. A Study of Changes in Racial Attitudes as Revealed in Selected Speeches of LeRoy Collins, 1955-1965. 1969.
  • Florida. Governor (1955-1961: Collins). Florida Across the Threshold; The Administration of Governor LeRoy Collins, January 4, 1961 (Available in the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library Reference section). 
  • Governor LeRoy Collins Legacy Lecture, videorecording. Speech by former Governor Bob Graham, recorded April 13, 1997 at the LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library
  • McClenahan, Heather. Florida in Black and White Newspapers, Race, and the 1968 U.S. Senate Campaign. 1994.
  • Smith, Charles U., Ed. The Civil Rights Movement in Florida and the United States: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. 1989.
  • Wagy, Tom. Governor LeRoy Collins of Florida: Spokesman of the New South, 1985. Available from LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library. Ask your public library to request the loan. 
  • Where He Stood, videorecording. "...a rare example of a politician who always dealt from a position of integrity- even when it threatened his political career." WFSU-TV, Tallahassee, FL. N.D. Available from LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library. Ask your public library to request the loan. 
Education
  • Florida. Governor's Advisory Commission on Race Relations. Report to Governor LeRoy Collins. March 16, 1959.
  • Florida. Citizens Committee on School Construction. School Building Needs in Florida: A Report to the Honorable LeRoy Collins, Governor. 1957.
  • Transportation
  • Keigh, John. "State-Long Turnpike Project One of Collins Big Problems." Tallahassee Democrat. 4 January, 1955. Sect 2, P. 20.
Miscellaneous
  • Collins, LeRoy. The South and the Nation. 1960.
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Southern Politics. 1973-1975.
  • Wagy, Thomas R. The Administration of Governor LeRoy Collins: An Opened Door to a New Florida. 1976.
  • Wagy, Thomas. A South to Save: The Administration of Governor LeRoy Collins of Florida. 1980.

MATERIALS FOR YOUTH