Reubin Askew to reflect on his unique experience as Florida's governor

November 10, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Former Gov. Reubin Askew, the leader who guided Florida through the civil rights era into the modern age, will speak Nov. 14 at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service in an exclusive session looking at his life and legacy.

Part of the “Next Florida” series, the session will feature Askew drawing on his unique experience to look back as well as explain where the state is headed. This event, which will include video participation from other former Florida governors, begins at 6 p.m. at UF’s Pugh Hall.

The event is free and open to the public and will be moderated by history professor emeritus David Colburn, who also served as UF provost from Oct. 5, 2000, until Jan. 1, 2005. It will be streamed live at www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.

Askew, who rose from being an obscure state senator from Pensacola, was named by Harvard University as one of the greatest governors of the 20th century. He was the youngest governor ever to serve as well as the first to fully serve two four-year terms.

An attorney and former U.S. Army paratrooper, Askew governed during one of the most tumultuous times in the history of the nation and the Sunshine State. Florida was very much a part of the Deep South when he first entered the Florida Legislature in 1958. When Askew left the governor’s post in 1979, the state was one of the most populous, economically powerful and culturally diverse states in the country.

A progressive Democrat, Askew opposed racial segregation and supported fairer legislative representation for the state’s rapidly growing urban counties. Tax reform, racial justice and honesty in government were the hallmarks of his governorship. He pushed through the state’s first corporate income tax in 1971, supported busing to end school segregation and appointed the first black Florida Supreme Court justice. He served as a U.S. Trade Representative from 1979 to 1981 and became the first Floridian to make a serious, but unsuccessful, bid for the presidency in 1984. He still lives in Tallahassee.