[William] Haydon Burns. Correspondence, 1965-1967, 34 cubic feet S 131 The term of William Haydon Burns, thirty-fifth governor, was shortened due to a change in election cycles. During his two- year term, Burns was primarily involved in the areas of education, reapportionment, and highways. He appointed Clifton Dyson, an African-American man from West Palm Beach, to the Board of Regents. Civil Rights, race relations and Florida A&M University are among the subjects pertaining to black history which are documented in Burns’ correspondence. Claude Roy Kirk, Jr. Correspondence, 1967-1971, 65 cubic feet S 923 Claude Roy Kirk, Jr., thirty-sixth governor, was the first Republican elected to the office of governor since 1872. In April 1970, when the United States Supreme Court ordered the busing of Manatee County school children, Kirk ordered the district to disregard the orders and then suspended the orders twice in the ensuing battle that ended with Kirk relenting and allowing busing to begin. Other subjects specifically related to the black experience are civil rights; minority education; race relations; the “Jacksonville Racial Situation;” school disturbances; Palm Beach County Sheriff Department; “Education—School Crisis;” and Florida A&M University. Claude Roy Kirk, Jr. Legal Files, 1967-1971, 9 cubic feet S 926 This series consists of transcripts of hearings, reference notes, published reports, meeting agendas and minutes, investigative reports, and correspondence documenting the legal activities of the Kirk administration in many areas, including school integration and forced busing.
Governor Reubin O’Donovan Askew: 1971-1979 (Record Group 103) Reubin O’Donovan Askew was the thirty-seventh governor of Florida, serving from January 5, 1971 to January 2, 1979. He served in the state House and Senate before being elected governor in 1970, defeating incumbent Claude Kirk. Askew was reelected in 1974, becoming the first governor in state history to be elected for a second successive full term. Askew was primarily involved in tax reform, especially in the increase of homestead exemption, and passage of the “Sunshine Amendment” which called for full financial disclosure by public officials and candidates. Askew named the first woman to
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