In His Own Words: The Voice of Franklin Florence

Photograph of Franklin Florence (Detail), 1965.

Known for his brilliant oratory both as a minister and as an activist, the links provided here offer the experience of listening to Rev. Florence, in his own words, both as a speaker at a civil rights rally and in the intimate setting of an in-depth oral history interview with scholar, Dr. Laura Warren Hill.

Dr. Hill's work with Rev. Florence served as source material for her book, Strike the Hammer: The Black Freedom Struggle in Rochester, New York, 1940–1970. (Cornell University Press, 2021). 

Part two of the FIGHT Rally at RIT Gym, dated June 11, 1965 includes Rev. Franklin Florence's speech, which begins at about 14:43, with the phrase, "We gather tonight..." and ends at 1:00:15, with "And with the help of God, we shall succeed."

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Part one of two of an oral history interview Rev. Florence conducted at FIGHT Villiage, with historian Laura Warren Hill, September 19, 2008. 

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