ORLANDO, Fla. – The late state Sen. Geraldine F. Thompson will be honored Friday with a road dedication in downtown Orlando.
What we know:
A stretch of West South Street will be renamed “Senator Geraldine F. Thompson Way” after the longtime politician who died earlier this year.
City and state leaders are expected to gather Friday morning for a dedication ceremony near the Wells’Built Museum. Thompson led the campaign to preserve the historic site, which started as the Wells’Built Hotel.
The ceremony will honor Thompson’s “decades of leadership, her dedication to preserving African American history, and her unwavering service to the people of Florida,” Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis said in a social media post. Bracy won a special election to finish the rest of Thompson’s term.
Thompson remembered as trailblazer
Thompson died in February at the age of 76 from complications following knee replacement surgery.
Thompson, a Democrat, was known as an educator and a trailblazer. She served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2026 to 2012. When she was elected in 2018 she became the first female Democrat and person of color to serve Florida House District 44. She was later elected to the state senate, representing District 15 in West Orange County.
“Senator Geraldine Thompson was a true trailblazer in Florida politics,” the Florida Democratic Party said in a statement at the time of her death. “A lifelong public servant and a fighter for civil rights, her impact on Florida stretched far beyond the average elected official.”
The Source: This article was written with information from previous FOX 35 reporting.