Dear friends and neighbors,
We all know of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and Malcolm X, each household names for their involvement in Civil Rights Movement. But have you heard of Polk County's very own Althea Margaret Daily Mills?
Ms. Mills was an unsung hero in the fight for desegregation in Florida. In 1963, at a time when Polk County Schools were still segregated, she led a successful lawsuit to desegregate schools. She did not accept the idea that her own son might receive an inferior education due to the color of his skin, nor that any other child should.
She later became the first Black career employee for United States Postal Service in Winter Haven, and the first post office station manager at Florence Villa Station. Now, the very post office she once managed is one step closer to being named in her honor. This week, the House passed my legislation to rename Florence-Villa United States Post Office in Polk County to the Althea Margaret Daily Mills Post Office Building.