TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Tallahassee branch of the NAACP has officially denounced the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and Florida State University merger, along with the sale of the country club golf course.
FSU-TMH Merger
The civil rights organization cites several reasons in a Wednesday press release for its concerns about the FSU-TMH merger. The document begins with the mention of a FAMU hospital that, according to the historical marker database, operated from 1911 to 1971. The NAACP said this was the first teaching hospital in Florida that served African Americans.
“That hospital was defunded and ultimately closed under the guise of integration, as state officials and the TMH Board redirected support away from FAMU’s medical programs. Today, history threatens to repeat itself,” the Tallahassee NAACP wrote.
The group fears that the merger will “extend to taking over or absorbing FAMU’s health education.” They wrote that the merger marginalizes FAMU’s health programs as it limits “clinical and internship opportunities necessary for graduation and accreditation.”
The group also argues that many of TMH’s patients are African Americans and the NAACP is “not confident” that an FSU academic hospital could “uphold that same level of community commitment.”
The Tallahassee NAACP continued and said that an FSU-controlled hospital “could create a monopoly on care.” They pointed towards Gainesville’s academic hospital (UF Health), where they claim the institution dominates the healthcare landscape “to the detriment of community access and competition.”
Tallahassee’s NAACP is also worried that TMH would be under the direction of Gov. DeSantis and Florida’s Surgeon General, with FSU under control.
“Given the recent, widely criticized and scientifically unsound statements made by the current Surgeon General regarding vaccines, this should alarm anyone who values public health, medical integrity, and community trust.”
They propose that the FSU College of Medicine should be a joint college with FAMU. The group also wrote that the transfer should not happen without a public vote.
“The people of Tallahassee deserve answers. FSU and the City must directly and transparently explain how this proposed transfer benefits the entire community—not just the university.”
The release finished by urging Tallahassee to “WAKE UP.”
During a Wednesday press conference, Florida State President Richard McCullough announced that FSU has reached an understanding with FAMU and TCS, giving both colleges a seat at the table in the merger.
McCullough also spoke to concerns about indigent care saying that FSU-TMH will continue the same level of existing indigent care and likely expand it.
More Tallahassee news:
Country Club Golf Course Sale
Tallahassee’s NAACP also opposes the sale of a city-owned country club golf course due to the existing unmarked graves of formerly enslaved people.
The country club land was previously leased for $1 a year, according to the city of Tallahassee. The civil rights organization said this lease happened in an effort to avoid desegregation, “and maintain its status as a whites-only private entity.”
The group said the price that the country club seeks to purchase the city-owned land is below the country club’s value. They also cite the Capital City Country Club’s “lack of transparency” in their effort to improve the golf course.
“CCCC [Capital City Country Club] has claimed that it cannot secure loans to improve the golf course, yet has provided no documentation of any loan applications or efforts to partner with the City to explore improvement funding.”
Years after discovery, graves of enslaved people remain unmarked at Capital City Country Club(City of Tallahassee)
According to Tallahassee’s NAACP, the Capital City Country Club has not committed to preserving the unmarked graves of formerly enslaved people.
“These sacred burial grounds remain unmarked, unprotected, and unacknowledged, with no visible commitment from CCCC to preserve or memorialize them.”
The group cited section 7 of the proposed agreement, which they wrote indicates that neither the city nor the country club is going to preserve or protect the graves. The group also wrote that the country club lacks accountability, as it did not attend a Sept. 17 city commission meeting to speak and engage with residents on its proposed sale.
“The land should be preserved as a fully public space, open and accessible to all communities, similar to other neighborhoods such as Southwood and Killearn,” the NAACP branch wrote. They also said that Tallahassee must protect and memorialize the burial grounds located in the golf course to ensure the graves are respected and remembered.
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