The NAACP Tallahassee branch is doubling down on comments about “potential legal action” while speaking out against the imminent sale and transfer of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to Florida State University.
Community leaders got together March 5 at Bethel AME Church to explain their concerns over the move that’s divided the community.
Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor, Tallahassee NAACP president Marlon Williams Clark, former Tallahassee mayor Dot Inman-Johnson, community activists Bruce Strouble and Delaitre Hollinger, and a number of others stood behind former mayor Jack McLean.
Also there were two city commission candidates Max Herrle, running for seat 3, and Tifany Hill, running against Dianne Williams-Cox.
This comes days before the city is set to meet for the final public hearing on the hospital’s sale.
A March 11 City Commission vote may be the culmination of an almost yearlong controversial process that has been undergirded by promises of a major upgrade to Tallahassee healthcare.
But many in the community have asked the commission to slow the process down to ensure the best possible outcome from the sale of one of the city’s most sizable public investments in a community hospital that lists its total assets at $1.3 billion.
NAACP Tallahassee Branch President Marlon Williams-Clark speaks with a group of supporters behind him during a press conference voicing concerns of the sale of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to Florida State University, Thursday, March 5, 2026.
It was made clear by the group that this meeting was not an attack on FSU or the city, but it is asking for better transparency in this process. McLean gave those in attendance a 25-page packet outlining conversations he has had with FSU President Richard McCullough and other shareholders. He then went on to explain what the NAACP’s requests are.
The first was asking that the city commission implement a requirement of a supermajority vote, four of five commissioners, to move the sale forward. As it stands a supermajority is a tough feat for the city commission to accomplish as the board is often split 3-2.
On one side stands Mayor John Dailey and Commissioners Williams-Cox and Curtis Richardson, who have all been in favor of the hospital sale. This leaves Commissioners Jack Porter and Jeremy Matlow, the progressive faction, who have voted against the merger. They have raised concerns about the sale, most notably the speed at which it has taken place.
“All I ask for, on behalf of everybody standing here, that the city goes back and they do a four-fifths vote. Treat our property like you treat your property,” McLean said.
The group wants financial oversight and clearer transparency on the proposed deals.
“Now you say, well, we’re getting rid of the property, but the city, I think, has the right of return if FSU decides they want to sell it, first it goes to the hospital and then to the city,” McLean said. “How much is it worth? (FSU) is going to pay, supposedly under this deal, $109 million for our hospital, over 30-40 years, not interest on the money.”
Former Tallahassee mayor, Jack McLean speaks during a press conference voicing concerns of the sale of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to Florida State University, Thursday, March 5, 2026.
The other ask coming from McLean had to do with securing language that ensured all members of the community will be guaranteed healthcare.
“The original lease said that anybody who could not afford healthcare would be given it, it was not just about an emergency. It was about anybody who had urgent care and did not have the money.”
This segued to McLean discussing the possibility of the NAACP suing the city.
“I don’t know whether we’re going to sue or not, but this group around us will not stand to lose out on healthcare that is needed by the poor and by those who can’t afford it. When you talk about about inability to pay, it is not just the poor, it is about people who are struggling and working every day for minimum wage and can’t get the medical care that they need.”
Williams Clark also added his own thoughts, focusing on why securing healthcare for the Black community was crucial.
“We all know, from not only the history of this country, but also even experiences right here in Tallahassee, that everybody does not get the same treatment based on what you look like.”
He added: “We right now have a state government who is hostile against DEI, against black history, against any kind of truth telling that informs us about disparities happening in our communities, and so if you have a state government who is so gung ho on silencing people about their experiences, about their pain, about their hurt and further more about what they expect from their healthcare … how are we supposed to trust that with our local hospital?”
What’s next
The final public hearing for the TMH deal will be held 9 a.m. March 11 at City Hall, 300 S. Adams St.
There is also a regularly scheduled commission meeting on March 11 at 3 p.m.
Arianna Otero is the trending and breaking news reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: NAACP may sue over Tallahassee sale of TMH to FSU. Here’s why