St. Augustine Record editorial: Our view: Stetson Kennedy: Courage was his hallmark

Our view: Stetson Kennedy: Courage was his hallmark
Posted: August 31, 2011 - 12:01am
August 31, 2011 - 12:01am
Our view: Stetson Kennedy: Courage was his hallmark
The death of William Stetson Kennedy immediately brings to mind these words: Civil rights fighter, Klan infiltrator, courageous, passionate, environmentalist, soft-spoken, sharp-tongued.

We always knew that someday he would leave us. We had fair warning of Kennedy's impending death last week when his wife Sandra Parks emailed that Kennedy was receiving palliative care at Baptist Medical Center South. It was hard to picture this man driven by so many causes not only bedridden but slipping away from us at the age of 94. He died Aug. 27.

Stories, including a fine retrospective in The St. Augustine Record and The Florida Times-Union by writer Charlie Patton, are literally circling the globe through the World Wide Web and The Associated Press. His words and deeds will live on in his eight books, numerous newspaper and broadcast interviews. oral histories, and numerous personal memories.

We are especially mindful of his 2005 induction into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in Tallahassee. Then-Secretary of State Glenda Hood called him a "literary genius" and "social crusader." Hood summed up how he fit into Florida's cultural consciousness. "He used his art for the betterment of mankind and to the fight against racism."

It wasn't enough for Kennedy to listen to others honor him. Kennedy spread the word that very evening that he was continuing the battle to save Florida's environment. "Man does not live by culture alone," he said. "Man-made Florida is threatening Mother Nature's Florida. There is an obligation for messages, so here's my message: Florida -- Love it or lose it."

As we watch what is happening today with changes in development laws that provide easier opportunities for man-made Florida to grow at the expense of natural Florida, Kennedy's words are truer now six years later.

In an acknowledgement of his efforts to foil the bad guys, ostensibly the KKK in Florida and Georgia 60-plus years ago, Kennedy has said on several occasions, "You can't embrace me without at the same time embracing fair play and equal opportunity." Right on.

But Kennedy also had an intense need to ensure that our state's cultural heritage was preserved. His interest was as keen now as it was in the 1930s when he was a writer and director of the WPA Florida Writers' Project that chronicled Florida's history and heritage.

The depth and extent to which Kennedy's legacy is carried out -- to ensure equality, protect the environment and preserve our cultural history -- will depend on how well we have listened and acted and helped the next generation learn those ways, too