In honor of Patricia Thompson during Black History Month – An opinion

By Dr. Tom  Washburn
February 25, 2022

As this nation and our community observe Black History Month, I write this article to honor Patricia Thompson, a Fernandina Beach leader. Thompson has played an integral role in this community’s history for several decades, having been a resident here all her life. She is devoted to this community, stating “I love Fernandina Beach.”

We are currently experiencing a fresh reminder of the systemic racism that has privileged whites and downplayed the rights of blacks over the last four centuries. Some states have been instituting policies in their school systems to either downplay or deny the brutal history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynching, and the Ku Klux Klan activities. In addition, politicians in many states (Florida is one) of this nation are restricting voting rights by various means, such as gerrymandering. In sharp contrast, we find Thompson in action.

Thompson’s adult life has been devoted to the struggle to achieve racial equality in Fernandina Beach and Nassau County. She has stated that racism must be exposed, that it has been hidden far too long. She endeavors to bring blacks and whites together to work as a team of learners and advocates. Thompson has emphasized that her volunteering and educating are all about being active in the community, not merely sitting in meetings and talking about racial equality. Thompson states that currently, her main objective is to advance blacks politically, socially, and economically.

In the political history of Fernandina Beach, Ms. Thompson has the distinction of being the only living black politician in Nassau County. She was the first and only black woman to serve on the Fernandina Beach City Commission (1999-2002), serving ultimately as Vice-Mayor (2001-2). She was president of the local chapter of the NAACP for twenty years, acting (in the words of Thompson) as “a watchdog for racial inequalities.” She is presently the president of the Nassau County Democratic black caucus, one goal being to get more blacks elected. She addresses the City Commission in person when she perceives the potential for racial injustice in specific projects being studied.

Socially, Thompson provides information and education concerning racial inequalities to black and white members of our community. One specific goal of hers is what she labels “Social Justice”. She works to abolish racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. She encourages her participants to volunteer in the county schools, addressing the students’ concerns about racially discriminatory treatment. Thompson, herself, works with civil rights attorneys to ensure that incarcerated people, regardless of race, receive appropriate sentences in our justice system. Thompson and her husband have enabled many black people to receive testing for the COVID virus and also to receive vaccinations against the virus.

Economically, Thompson is a member of the Nassau County Community Development Corporation to ensure that minorities with the same qualifications as other races can obtain jobs. She became a strong advocate four years ago for people living in the black community during a community meeting at the Peck Center concerning the Ninth Street Roadway Study. That project was presented by the City Planner and would have negatively impacted residents and businesses serving the black community. Thompson devotes considerable time and effort to assisting itinerant and impoverished people of all races. She works with them to find homes and jobs, often taking them to Barnabas Center where their health, housing, and economic problems can be addressed comprehensively.

We are approaching Women’s History Month, and Thompson is a living example of the positive impact on our community that stalwart women make. That she is black is, of course, significant as we look at this nation’s history of racial relations. She states that, “The world does not understand that being a black woman means that we are discriminated against every day, every week, every month, and every year.” The Fernandina Beach community is most grateful to you, Patricia Thompson, for your decades of service.

Editor’s Note:  Dr. Thomas Washburn, with support from other community leaders, founded the Barnabas Samaritan Medical Clinic in October of 2005.  He continues to be a community activist, who, like Patricia Thompson, is devoted to the struggle to achieve racial equality.