February 10, 2026 • 30 mins
“Sharing the legacy as a lifelong advocate for diversity, equality and civil rights, we honor the memory of “the Dean of Civil Rights”, Homer C. Floyd who led the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission for over forty years and was a moral compass for an entire era.”
Dauphin County Bar Association PHRC Mourns the Passing of Former Executive Director Homer C. Floyd | Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Dauphin County Bar Association PHRC Mourns the Passing of Former Executive Director Homer C. Floyd | Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Sylvia Moss. This is in Sight, a presentation
of iHeartMedia, where we really do care about our local
communities and all our listeners who live here. Yet a
time when many of us are concerned about the direction
that our country is heading, I'm reminded by one of
today's guests that we are still a nation of heroes,
those who demonstrate an utmost commitment to their morals and ethics,
(00:22):
no matter the obstacle or the consequence, all for the
purpose of transforming society for the better. Today, we're going
to honor the memory of a hero whose steadfast, courage
and principled leadership definitely changed not only our state, but
our country for the better. He turned its ideals into
law and hope into positive change. Having had the longest
(00:42):
tenure as executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission,
Homer c. Floyd's forty one year career with this agency
was historic, as he transformative enforcement of civil rights laws
in Pennsylvania. He shaped statewide policy on discrimination in housing, employment,
and public accommodations, earning a national reputation as the Dean
(01:03):
of civil rights. Homer c. Floyd was known for his
unmatched tenure, his expertise, and the quiet authority that defined
his leadership. I like to begin by telling you that
I was aware of mister Floyd and his long commitment
to Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. I also knew that he
was a legend in advancing civil rights for everyone. However,
what I didn't know was was that mister Floyd was
(01:25):
the father of a much loved member of the iHeart
family and my very dear friend, J. C. Floyd. In fact,
a little over a year ago I asked JC about
the possibility of interviewing his dad. But at the time,
mister Floyd was quite ill and Jac was taking care
of him. And as others have told me, even if
he wasn't, and mister Floyd probably wouldn't agree to an
interview because getting attention wasn't in his nature. His path
(01:48):
was always one of quiet dignity. Sadly, mister Floyd passed
away in January twenty twenty five at the age of
eighty nine. Earlier this year, the Dauphin County Bar Association
honor Director Homer Floylloyd with the Judge Clarence C. Morrison Ward,
celebrating a lifetime of quiet courage and lasting impact on
the justice in our community. A member of the Bar Association,
(02:10):
a long time attorney himself, and the person who nominated
mister Floyd for this honor. William Warren is with us
today along with two of Director Floyd's three children, of
Cheryl Floyd Brown and her brother, my buddy jac Still
respecting the life that he led, of quieting me, I'm
hoping that mister Floyd would understand our need to present
this humble tribute to him. Guys, what can I say?
(02:32):
I am blown away by your father and mister Warren.
If you don't mind, I think I'm going to start
with the kids. Okay, how's that sounding?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
All right?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Okay, selon, jac I want you guys to jump in
at any time. Let's begin with your dad wasn't from
the area he grew up in Alabama? Was it nineteen
thirty six? Cause I think it was, yes, that was
We weren't by the time he was old enough to well.
Growing up between thirty six and when the Civil rights
(03:00):
movement and all that segregation, everything that was going up
made the Torah country apart, he saw a lot of stuff,
right can you did he ever tell you guys when
he was a kid, what it was like for him
and what he saw.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
He told me a few different things in reference to
his personal life and what he went through, but he
really didn't talk about the transition from Alabama to Ohio, Okay,
where he went to a junior high and he went
to high school. I know he said he cut his
hand and some other different things, but he and he
also talked about the fact that he didn't have a
(03:34):
birth certificate and it didn't really come to light until
he went to kindergarten and they wouldn't accept him because
he didn't have one.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Why didn't he have one?
Speaker 4 (03:43):
To him? They didn't issue them, oh.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
The things, and they had to go through about a
year of all kinds of transitions before.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
They were able to get into school.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
So part of the problem that you know, he kind
of had was he was a year behind and people.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
It wasn't because he.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Was stupid, yeah, almost, it was.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Because he didn't have a birth certificate.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So he didn't share things with you, Like I mean,
we all saw things. I mean, those are the times
of Rosa Parks and Doctor King and I mean all
I can remember watching it because I was a kid
then in the sixties, and I can remember the dogs
and spraying water on the black people. It was awful.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Well, he didn't necessarily share a lot of that. We
saw some of it, but at that point in time
in the sixties, I was like, in sixty five, I
was ten years old.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yeah, yeah, so a lot of what.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Was going on in the late fifties in the early
sixties I didn't understand. He may have talked about it,
but it just didn't register until I got to i'd
say the late sixties. That's when I started remembering what
was going on.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
What about your grandparents, what were they like?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Well, we didn't know our grandfather's Okay, I've never met
my dad's grandfather.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Dad met moms, We didn't me did How many times
did you see him?
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Twice?
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I think I think maybe five times for me because
both of my grandparents both sides were split, okay and everything.
So we knew our grandmothers and we knew them very well,
but we really didn't know our grandfathers.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Your mom and your dad, they were married for an
awful long time. They got married right out of high school,
didn't they.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
I think it was their senior year.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Is that what it was. Did she ever share anything
with you about how things were back in those days?
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Ah?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
She was so mellow because I think what I've read
about your dad, he was big into education. He was
big into equality for everybody. But he didn't just read
about this stuff that he was working towards equal rights.
He must have seen it or experienced some of it.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Oh, he has seen a lot of it. I know.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
He talked about the University of Kansas a lot of
the things that he went through back then.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yeah, I want to talk about those things too.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
There were times the team would play teams down south
and that he couldn't eat with the team. He couldn't
sleep with the team. They go to restaurants and he
had to eat in the kitchen. You know, these types
of things went on a lot. He talked about that.
Speaker 5 (06:15):
Yeah, yeah, And I think a lot of the experiences
he had were so disturbing.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
He didn't really want to keep trying talking about him.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
But what he did is he turned it into action
and said, you know what, I don't want anybody else.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
To have to go through this.
Speaker 5 (06:29):
And he committed his life to make you.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Mention, Well, you know about this little boy who didn't
have a birth certificate gualified. When he went to Ohio
and he got into high school. Well, baby, how about it,
especially when it came to football. Talk to us about that?
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Was that was his life right there?
Speaker 3 (06:45):
In fact, I was sharing before that part of the
reason he was so good was the fact that well,
actually our grandmother had polio, okay, and she was in
the hospital, and it was such a big thing that
he may not be able to go to school in
Maslin because where would he stay. So parents and different
(07:07):
community members would invite him in to stay with them
while she was in the hospital. About that, just so
he could go to school and he could play.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
So he was raised by a village. Oh yes, isn't
that cool? Well, he really excelled in high school, didn't he?
And when he is it true that he got offers
to play college? Boy, he got like fifty scholarship offers.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
I don't know if he had fifty. I know he
had at least twenty five.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
And he chose to go to Kansas for one reason.
What was it?
Speaker 4 (07:36):
His coach?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
He's played on a high school team where they were
state champions in national champions one year, but they were
state champions in Ohio for three years in a row,
and the junior year of his team, his coach left
at the end of the season to go to the
University of Kansas to be the head coach. And so
when my father graduated, he had such a relationship with
(08:01):
the former head coach of the high school team, he
wanted to follow Chuck Mather to the University of Kansas.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
And what was this magic that coach Mather had that
he wanted to go.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
I really don't know.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I think it was just a discipline, the fact that
they had such a good team, they were so regimented,
and they were successful, and I think he wanted to
follow that. And what was really crazy was he had
offers from Ohio State, from Purdue, from Michigan, Michigan State,
the whole Big Ten came after him, and he chose Kansas.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Well, he also wasn't he offered? Didn't he play in
the Canadian Football League and he was drafted by professional football.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yes, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, but he
chose to go play in the Edmonton Oilers for a
year and then he came back to Cleveland and he
was a rookie on the Cleveland Browns with Jim Brown.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Oh, my gosh, how about that? That really was something
that there were stories about that though. How about it?
Speaker 3 (08:59):
There was one story, it was very funny where they
were playing ping pong and Jim was My dad was
winning and he was playing Jim and one of the
other players came over and said, hey, you may want
to go ahead and lose this one. My dad was like, why,
He says, you don't want to be around Jim when
he got mad, you know, Is that right?
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah? I said, so what did you do? Dad?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
He says, I lost? He was there. He was very
well known in college, and also another guy was very
well known that we all wasn't Will Chamberlain there at
the same time that your dad was. Oh was Oh
my goodness, the story I see. Please. I love these
stories whenever, whenever you have them.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Was the captain.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
He was the first.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
He was the first black captain of the University of Kansas,
of any team, let alone just football, of all the schools.
And he was very proud of that. And they even
went to the Dean's office one time to talk about
the inequities and the inadequacies and how blacks were treated.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
And I think they got something done.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
But at least do you remember the story about the
movie theaters, what he had done? What he did? Yeah, yeah,
sure that was this. That's pretty cool. Were the weren't
the blacks could only sit in the balcony? Oh yeah,
So what he did, he said that told all the
kids don't go to those theaters, that he's going to
rent those movies and they can come and see him
(10:28):
somewhere else for free. Yeah what a guy. Huh wow.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
He often told me that he had a tremendous amount
of help over the years. He said, the coaches invested
in him, different people along the way, at high school,
in college, all of these people invested in him. And
he said, what, like, how humble he was that they
chose him to help him, and how his life was
(10:53):
different as a result of it. And you don't see
that as much anymore as you did back then. And
he said, people took him under his under their wing,
and they helped him to not only excel in sports,
but also in education. Because I think the big thing
was sports, sports, sports, but he knew that he needed
(11:16):
something else other than just sports to rely on, and
so the education piece was big for him.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
You know, years and years ago when I was a kid,
a kid like we're talking eighteen twenty years old. I
interviewed the man that was the guy at that time
in college sports. Joe Paternal spent the day with him,
and I remember mister Paternal. Everybody was calling coach that
I just saw mister Paternal. I remember him say, these
guys are here to get an education first and then
(11:46):
play football. And he sounds just like that too. He
appreciates that.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
My dad went through a big transition after he finished
playing football because what ended up having with the Cleveland
Browns was he got hurt as the season began and
he wasn't going to be able to continue that year.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
So he had to figure out what to do.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
And this time we were in Ohio and he couldn't
figure out, well, do I stay here in Ohio? Do
I go back to Kansas? And he decided to go
back to Kansas. And we were in Kansas City and
he was like a director of the public Recreation Center
and the big thing was what do I do from here?
(12:27):
Because this is not sports as I know it. I've
always been the star. I've always been. Everyone always gravitated
to me. They came to me, what am I going
to do because now I'm just an average Joe. And
that's when he really started to appreciate how bad things were,
particularly for blacks in the area. As he was working
(12:50):
with this rec center, and he decided at that point
he wanted to get into civil rights. And it wasn't
a big thing. It was just something to do to
figure year out. And the more he got into it,
the more he read about it, the more he studied it,
the more he talked to other people, suddenly became a
fire in him.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
What did he study in school?
Speaker 4 (13:10):
He was a physical education major.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Isn't that interesting?
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yeah, But I have to say that he had college courses,
master courses, and several different philosophies after, you know, he
left the university because he never stopped studying.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
He had tons of books.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
You know, and we used to wonder when do you
read these? And he read them at the office because
he'd go back every night to the office. He'd come
in to have dinner with us, and then by seven
thirty eight o'clock he was back to the office.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
I heard you did the same thing. At the Pennsylvania
Humor Relations Commission. He was always the leading because of
care bottom line of care and that's you know, that's tough.
I want to talk about how he got to the
Kansas Commission on Civil Rights from that? Was that from
where he.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Well, okay, well, when we left Kansas, he went to
the Kansas Commission and he was just a regular field
officer and he continued there and he was doing better
and continued to be promoted, and then he suddenly got
the job offer to be the director executive director of
the Omaha him the Relations Commission. So we went and
(14:23):
we lived in Omaha for a year. Uh and he
did so well in Omaha that when the position came
available in Kansas with their Civil Rights Commission, they brought
him back and that's how we ended back into Peka.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
I see, okay, that's when I popped up, popped up,
you guys. I know, Jase had shared the story with me,
and this really impressed me. Tell us about the connection
with Martin Luther King.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
That was something I didn't even know about, and he
had talked about it years ago when I was young,
but it really didn't stick with me and resonate because
that was such a young kid. Basically he was at
the University of Kansas State our arch rival, and he
was going to presentation in which several leaders, including Doctor King,
(15:14):
were on stage to discuss a certain topic. And what
we didn't know was a week later, Doctor King would
be assassinated and one of the things they found in
his pocket was a piece of paper with my dad's
name on it.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
And it was mainly because Doctor King wanted to remember
who was on stage with him.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Note what happened to note everything?
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Wow, I don't know what was on the note.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Yeah, but I didn't realize that until I was like
fifty fifty five.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
He didn't talk about a lot of that stuff much,
but he did mention it a few times, and it
was more powerful the older we were.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Oh yeah, Oh, of course you don't realize that, you know,
because I've often said, you know these kids that they
don't realize. First of all, you're raising a kid, and
all of a sudden they think they know anything till
they're maybe twenty five. Then mom and dad got real
smart all of a sudden. But as you do get older,
you do appreciate you find things out. And that's why
I always encourage people talk to your grandparents. There's a
(16:22):
whole lot of stuff that you don't know about them,
you know that you're gonna want to share with your
kids or whoever other people. I want to talk and
if first of all I would like to talk switch
here's a little mister Warren and talk to you about
the award that you gave to these kids. Listen to
kids you're not kids recently posthumously for their father. Can
(16:46):
you talk about that? It's a Dolphin County Bar Association's
award Judge Clarence cy Morrison Moore.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I'd be pleased to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Please.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
The Adolphin County Bar Association for about twenty years has
had a little bit more than twenty has had an
Equal Professional Opportunity Committee and that committee annually is an
award in the name of Clarence Morrison, who was the
first black.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Judge, and.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Ordinarily we have been pleased to award contributions to the
advancement of diversity to law firms to individuals. Lawyer connected
Homer Floyd was the first non lawyer to receive the award.
(17:36):
I've had the pleasure of nominating him. You'd say, well,
isn't that a little bit of a departure Not if
you really understood what he was and what he was
able to do. He probably knew more law than all
the rest of us put together. At least he knew
more law than me. He contributed tremendously to law, not
(17:57):
only in Pennsylvania, but really internationally. He was known nationally
and internationally as a leader. And what occurs to me
looking over some of the particulars in his resume is
the leadership aspect. But the committee was unanimous, and it
(18:18):
was because he was so much more than just an
administrator shuffling papers. It was his leadership characteristics.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
You know what, You're a pretty sharp guy. And I
know you had told me that you had worked in
state government for a number of years. Did you know
of him when you were?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Well his reputation I probably had passing conversations with him
over the years, But it was his reputation that caused
me to make the nomination and had caused the committee
to give him this recognition, albeit posthumously. His reputation was
so strong and in quiet ways do I reflect what
(18:57):
his two children here have mentioned about him. He was
His leadership style was substantive, it was quiet. Everybody knew
and recognized the skill that he brought to very complex
and emotional, sometimes quite antagonistic situations. He was a person
(19:21):
who is very demeanor, would calm the boiler, the roiling waters,
as you say. And that's how he was able to
handle so much and accomplish so much.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
So he was a guy that could work both sides
of the aisle. He listened. He had the talent of listening, right. Oh,
that was a talent.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
But he wasn't working both sides of the aisle.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
He was he understoltically what I'm saying, two different versions
of something going.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
On, yes, which you would say normally would be irreconcilable.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Yes, yeah, pretty much, but he was.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
He had that. He had the reputation for bringing those
kinds of capabilities and his ship style cops props up,
I mean everything from being captain of a football team
in racially segregated how about that. Yeah, think about that.
That was a recognition of some characteristics that are quite uncommon.
(20:19):
And then he chose a career with major accomplishments. Had
have the benefit of some notes from Trent Hargrove, who
is a lawyer in town also a member of Equal
Professional Opportunity Comittee, and he brought some personal experiences to him.
You know, he Cheryl mentioned the fact that he benefited.
(20:44):
Homer benefited from guidance and interaction and mentorship from all
kinds of people. That's what Homer Floyd was in the bar.
He was somebody who you know, let's face it, we're
striving to increase diversity in Gulphin County, in central Pennsylvania generally,
that's the purpose of the committee. So young and middle
(21:08):
aged and sometimes older black attorneys, you know, would take
counsel with him, and he was available for that always.
I'm not surprised to hear about his work ethic, because
you couldn't accomplish all the things that he accomplished and
all the quiet things he did without putting in a
(21:29):
tremendous effort. And I'm really kind of pleased to hear
about his practice of coming home for dinner and not
forgetting his family obligations. And we have two wonderful adults
scenario with uslutely who are the best evidence of his accomplishments.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
You know what I have to say, I had a
discussion with you, and I called you about this, and
you're the gentleman that reminded me is we still do
have heroes in this country, and sometimes we forget it.
And I thank you for that because I need to
hear that once in a while. Guys, I want to
ask you. Go ahead, Jason.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
I was so in two things.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
One was that my father was appointed back in nineteen
sixty nine by a Republican governor here in Pennsylvania, and
until he retired in twenty eleven, he every new governor that.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Came in had the House of the Money right.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
To fire him and replace.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Them maybe nuts, and they kept him both Republican and Democrat,
and that was something he was very proud of.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
And I am not familiar with anybody who had that
kind of a tenure in state government. Maybe in the
early twentieth century. There's something that I don't know anything about,
but certainly nobody.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Recently did he Who were his heroes? Did he ever
talk about he was growing up or it was not.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Everybody, they're good Marshall. He talked about so many different
people he'd met, particularly in the love that you know
that he had pictures with h The second point I
was going to say was I was going to thank
my jentlemen on the leftier because many, many different attorneys
influenced my father to the point where he realized that
(23:18):
the law was what he needed most on his side
to win a lot of these battles. He understood that
change comes through peace, but also it's enforced by the law.
And as long as you can have a great relationship
with lawyers to understand how the whole process worked and
(23:40):
every stage to accomplish this. I have to say thank
you for that, because you know that was important.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Very important.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Well, you know what, we all know who he was
professional and who he was the Pennsylvanian rest of the country,
and he had a heck of a lot of impact
on the rest of the country too. But for you
guys ask of this, do you recognize any of his
traits in yourselves? Well, I know you're Jasey said he
(24:11):
was tough, and I get that. What about you show
you are very kind and supportive and the same kind
of person that your guys seems to me? And I
know jac he's got a heart looks.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
Huge, absolutely, probably bigger than it should be. Yeah, we
know that there were a lot of things that I
really admired in my father. The humility was just tremendous.
I mean, the idea that he had accomplished all these
things and he could come home and just be my dad.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Oh wow, that was a big thing.
Speaker 5 (24:47):
And there were so many people that I would meet
along my side that would say, oh, my god, Homer's
your dad. Oh he did all these things for you.
Let me tell you about this. Oh I got to
get you connected to them. And I was thinking, but
this is just my dad, but he is humility and
because he was doing it out of sincerity, out of
(25:07):
a commitment, out of love, you know, to help folks.
I think I kind of picked up on some of
that because the work that I do, it really is
a genuine desire to help people as opposed to being recognized.
And a lot of times I'm behind the scenes and
I might be doing all the work, but I'd rather
be behind the scenes because my commitment is to make
(25:29):
sure that whoever I'm working with is getting the support
and the help that they need. So I learned that
from him. Education was a big thing with him. I
already knew I was going to college because he had.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Already worked in went to Kansas, I know that.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Know.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
I went to Clarion University, and then I went on
to get my master's at Temple, you know, okay, but
he was it was about education. You gotta get an education.
And Jeff knows this more he experienced it because he's older.
But you're going to college. So it was all kind
of laid out. And when I went, I begrudgingly went,
(26:08):
you know, I went through, and then later on I
realized this is why he wanted me to go, because
it opened doors and opportunities for you that you didn't have.
There was a lot of things that I really liked
about Dad.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
I was a daddy's girl, you know, and so you're
the girl. Yeah, I was like, he was extra strict
with you.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
Well, he was strict with me, but he also there
was a connection that I felt with him that was
more important, I think than any other connections in my life.
Growing up, Mom and you know, we were all really close.
But something about my father and he always provided for us.
(26:52):
There was never anything we ever wanted. He also taught
us about being independent because there was a time where
women were supposed to stay home and get married and
be housewives, and he said, no, you're going to have
some skills and going to be take care of yourselves.
Are some of the things.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Jasy, we got three minutes left. Tell me what about
your dad, how he influenced you? What do you think?
Speaker 4 (27:14):
Well, he influenced me in two ways.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Number One, he taught me the importance of being able
to speak proper English and to basically be able to
convey yourself. So I think that did a lot for radio.
But I was also the biggest disappointment in the family,
unlike my sister and my brother, because I didn't finish college.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
But look, look what you've done, and look what you do.
Sometimes to think of formal education.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
Well, you know there's people that have some educations.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
There was the biggest students, absolutely absolutely you were going
to say that was him.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Well, guys, I have something quick to add. His successor
wrote an article appearing in June twenty second. You have
Patriot News, and I'd recommend pulling that article out for
anybody that wants. Yeah, I mean your introduction was excellent,
Thank you, dere and this article compliments that, and it's
(28:13):
really what prompted me to suggest award.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
You know what, I'm glad you said that because that's
what I was going to ask these guys, how can
we read more about this awesome guy? You said what
it was in them?
Speaker 2 (28:25):
What June twenty second article in the Patriot?
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Patriot?
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Okay, Chad Lassiter, who's the new I guess since I
don't know when Executive director of the Human Relations Commission.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Okay, that sounds great.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
It was even better. That's our brother's birthday, is that right?
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh. Well, I'm the kind
of person that truly believes people are put on this
or they're put in situations for a certain reason. And honestly, god,
I'm sure that's what happened with your dad, and I could.
I wish I would have known about this before he
got seck. But like you said, he probably wanted to
talk talk to me anyway. But I what an honor?
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Do know?
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Somebody like that? So, mister Warren, thank you, thank you
so much for coming in and sharing your stories, and
for the wonderful award that you gave mister Floyd and
Charlon and jac Thank you for those goofy stories about
your dad and wonderful stories about your dad, and for
my listeners. When you think about the many laws to
protect all of us from discrimination, things that inturior rights
(29:23):
and workplaces, schools, housing, public liking more. Please remember it's
all because of the former executive director of the Pennsylvania
Humor Relations Commissioner. And there's six governors Homer C. Floyd.
There is no legacy such as the one that he's left.
I'm Sylvia Moss, listening inside every Sunday hour in one
of our Tennight Hearts stations, or anytime on your favorite
(29:44):
podcasts app Thanks so much for listening, See you next week.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
It was a step that a boat were scat
Hi, I'm Sylvia Moss. This is in Sight, a presentation
of iHeartMedia, where we really do care about our local
communities and all our listeners who live here. Yet a
time when many of us are concerned about the direction
that our country is heading, I'm reminded by one of
today's guests that we are still a nation of heroes,
those who demonstrate an utmost commitment to their morals and ethics,
(00:22):
no matter the obstacle or the consequence, all for the
purpose of transforming society for the better. Today, we're going
to honor the memory of a hero whose steadfast, courage
and principled leadership definitely changed not only our state, but
our country for the better. He turned its ideals into
law and hope into positive change. Having had the longest
(00:42):
tenure as executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission,
Homer c. Floyd's forty one year career with this agency
was historic, as he transformative enforcement of civil rights laws
in Pennsylvania. He shaped statewide policy on discrimination in housing, employment,
and public accommodations, earning a national reputation as the Dean
(01:03):
of civil rights. Homer c. Floyd was known for his
unmatched tenure, his expertise, and the quiet authority that defined
his leadership. I like to begin by telling you that
I was aware of mister Floyd and his long commitment
to Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. I also knew that he
was a legend in advancing civil rights for everyone. However,
what I didn't know was was that mister Floyd was
(01:25):
the father of a much loved member of the iHeart
family and my very dear friend, J. C. Floyd. In fact,
a little over a year ago I asked JC about
the possibility of interviewing his dad. But at the time,
mister Floyd was quite ill and Jac was taking care
of him. And as others have told me, even if
he wasn't, and mister Floyd probably wouldn't agree to an
interview because getting attention wasn't in his nature. His path
(01:48):
was always one of quiet dignity. Sadly, mister Floyd passed
away in January twenty twenty five at the age of
eighty nine. Earlier this year, the Dauphin County Bar Association
honor Director Homer Floylloyd with the Judge Clarence C. Morrison Ward,
celebrating a lifetime of quiet courage and lasting impact on
the justice in our community. A member of the Bar Association,
(02:10):
a long time attorney himself, and the person who nominated
mister Floyd for this honor. William Warren is with us
today along with two of Director Floyd's three children, of
Cheryl Floyd Brown and her brother, my buddy jac Still
respecting the life that he led, of quieting me, I'm
hoping that mister Floyd would understand our need to present
this humble tribute to him. Guys, what can I say?
(02:32):
I am blown away by your father and mister Warren.
If you don't mind, I think I'm going to start
with the kids. Okay, how's that sounding?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
All right?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Okay, selon, jac I want you guys to jump in
at any time. Let's begin with your dad wasn't from
the area he grew up in Alabama? Was it nineteen
thirty six? Cause I think it was, yes, that was
We weren't by the time he was old enough to well.
Growing up between thirty six and when the Civil rights
(03:00):
movement and all that segregation, everything that was going up
made the Torah country apart, he saw a lot of stuff,
right can you did he ever tell you guys when
he was a kid, what it was like for him
and what he saw.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
He told me a few different things in reference to
his personal life and what he went through, but he
really didn't talk about the transition from Alabama to Ohio, Okay,
where he went to a junior high and he went
to high school. I know he said he cut his
hand and some other different things, but he and he
also talked about the fact that he didn't have a
(03:34):
birth certificate and it didn't really come to light until
he went to kindergarten and they wouldn't accept him because
he didn't have one.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Why didn't he have one?
Speaker 4 (03:43):
To him? They didn't issue them, oh.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
The things, and they had to go through about a
year of all kinds of transitions before.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
They were able to get into school.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
So part of the problem that you know, he kind
of had was he was a year behind and people.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
It wasn't because he.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Was stupid, yeah, almost, it was.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
Because he didn't have a birth certificate.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So he didn't share things with you, Like I mean,
we all saw things. I mean, those are the times
of Rosa Parks and Doctor King and I mean all
I can remember watching it because I was a kid
then in the sixties, and I can remember the dogs
and spraying water on the black people. It was awful.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Well, he didn't necessarily share a lot of that. We
saw some of it, but at that point in time
in the sixties, I was like, in sixty five, I
was ten years old.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Yeah, yeah, so a lot of what.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Was going on in the late fifties in the early
sixties I didn't understand. He may have talked about it,
but it just didn't register until I got to i'd
say the late sixties. That's when I started remembering what
was going on.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
What about your grandparents, what were they like?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Well, we didn't know our grandfather's Okay, I've never met
my dad's grandfather.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Dad met moms, We didn't me did How many times
did you see him?
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Twice?
Speaker 3 (05:08):
I think I think maybe five times for me because
both of my grandparents both sides were split, okay and everything.
So we knew our grandmothers and we knew them very well,
but we really didn't know our grandfathers.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Your mom and your dad, they were married for an
awful long time. They got married right out of high school,
didn't they.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
I think it was their senior year.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Is that what it was. Did she ever share anything
with you about how things were back in those days?
Speaker 5 (05:34):
Ah?
Speaker 1 (05:35):
She was so mellow because I think what I've read
about your dad, he was big into education. He was
big into equality for everybody. But he didn't just read
about this stuff that he was working towards equal rights.
He must have seen it or experienced some of it.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
Oh, he has seen a lot of it. I know.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
He talked about the University of Kansas a lot of
the things that he went through back then.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yeah, I want to talk about those things too.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
There were times the team would play teams down south
and that he couldn't eat with the team. He couldn't
sleep with the team. They go to restaurants and he
had to eat in the kitchen. You know, these types
of things went on a lot. He talked about that.
Speaker 5 (06:15):
Yeah, yeah, And I think a lot of the experiences
he had were so disturbing.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
He didn't really want to keep trying talking about him.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
But what he did is he turned it into action
and said, you know what, I don't want anybody else.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
To have to go through this.
Speaker 5 (06:29):
And he committed his life to make you.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Mention, Well, you know about this little boy who didn't
have a birth certificate gualified. When he went to Ohio
and he got into high school. Well, baby, how about it,
especially when it came to football. Talk to us about that?
Speaker 4 (06:42):
Was that was his life right there?
Speaker 3 (06:45):
In fact, I was sharing before that part of the
reason he was so good was the fact that well,
actually our grandmother had polio, okay, and she was in
the hospital, and it was such a big thing that
he may not be able to go to school in
Maslin because where would he stay. So parents and different
(07:07):
community members would invite him in to stay with them
while she was in the hospital. About that, just so
he could go to school and he could play.
Speaker 1 (07:15):
So he was raised by a village. Oh yes, isn't
that cool? Well, he really excelled in high school, didn't he?
And when he is it true that he got offers
to play college? Boy, he got like fifty scholarship offers.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
I don't know if he had fifty. I know he
had at least twenty five.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
And he chose to go to Kansas for one reason.
What was it?
Speaker 4 (07:36):
His coach?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
He's played on a high school team where they were
state champions in national champions one year, but they were
state champions in Ohio for three years in a row,
and the junior year of his team, his coach left
at the end of the season to go to the
University of Kansas to be the head coach. And so
when my father graduated, he had such a relationship with
(08:01):
the former head coach of the high school team, he
wanted to follow Chuck Mather to the University of Kansas.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
And what was this magic that coach Mather had that
he wanted to go.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
I really don't know.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
I think it was just a discipline, the fact that
they had such a good team, they were so regimented,
and they were successful, and I think he wanted to
follow that. And what was really crazy was he had
offers from Ohio State, from Purdue, from Michigan, Michigan State,
the whole Big Ten came after him, and he chose Kansas.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Well, he also wasn't he offered? Didn't he play in
the Canadian Football League and he was drafted by professional football.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yes, he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, but he
chose to go play in the Edmonton Oilers for a
year and then he came back to Cleveland and he
was a rookie on the Cleveland Browns with Jim Brown.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Oh, my gosh, how about that? That really was something
that there were stories about that though. How about it?
Speaker 3 (08:59):
There was one story, it was very funny where they
were playing ping pong and Jim was My dad was
winning and he was playing Jim and one of the
other players came over and said, hey, you may want
to go ahead and lose this one. My dad was like, why,
He says, you don't want to be around Jim when
he got mad, you know, Is that right?
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah? I said, so what did you do? Dad?
Speaker 1 (09:22):
He says, I lost? He was there. He was very
well known in college, and also another guy was very
well known that we all wasn't Will Chamberlain there at
the same time that your dad was. Oh was Oh
my goodness, the story I see. Please. I love these
stories whenever, whenever you have them.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Was the captain.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
He was the first.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
He was the first black captain of the University of Kansas,
of any team, let alone just football, of all the schools.
And he was very proud of that. And they even
went to the Dean's office one time to talk about
the inequities and the inadequacies and how blacks were treated.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
And I think they got something done.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
But at least do you remember the story about the
movie theaters, what he had done? What he did? Yeah, yeah,
sure that was this. That's pretty cool. Were the weren't
the blacks could only sit in the balcony? Oh yeah,
So what he did, he said that told all the
kids don't go to those theaters, that he's going to
rent those movies and they can come and see him
(10:28):
somewhere else for free. Yeah what a guy. Huh wow.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
He often told me that he had a tremendous amount
of help over the years. He said, the coaches invested
in him, different people along the way, at high school,
in college, all of these people invested in him. And
he said, what, like, how humble he was that they
chose him to help him, and how his life was
(10:53):
different as a result of it. And you don't see
that as much anymore as you did back then. And
he said, people took him under his under their wing,
and they helped him to not only excel in sports,
but also in education. Because I think the big thing
was sports, sports, sports, but he knew that he needed
(11:16):
something else other than just sports to rely on, and
so the education piece was big for him.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
You know, years and years ago when I was a kid,
a kid like we're talking eighteen twenty years old. I
interviewed the man that was the guy at that time
in college sports. Joe Paternal spent the day with him,
and I remember mister Paternal. Everybody was calling coach that
I just saw mister Paternal. I remember him say, these
guys are here to get an education first and then
(11:46):
play football. And he sounds just like that too. He
appreciates that.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
My dad went through a big transition after he finished
playing football because what ended up having with the Cleveland
Browns was he got hurt as the season began and
he wasn't going to be able to continue that year.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
So he had to figure out what to do.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
And this time we were in Ohio and he couldn't
figure out, well, do I stay here in Ohio? Do
I go back to Kansas? And he decided to go
back to Kansas. And we were in Kansas City and
he was like a director of the public Recreation Center
and the big thing was what do I do from here?
(12:27):
Because this is not sports as I know it. I've
always been the star. I've always been. Everyone always gravitated
to me. They came to me, what am I going
to do because now I'm just an average Joe. And
that's when he really started to appreciate how bad things were,
particularly for blacks in the area. As he was working
(12:50):
with this rec center, and he decided at that point
he wanted to get into civil rights. And it wasn't
a big thing. It was just something to do to
figure year out. And the more he got into it,
the more he read about it, the more he studied it,
the more he talked to other people, suddenly became a
fire in him.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
What did he study in school?
Speaker 4 (13:10):
He was a physical education major.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
Isn't that interesting?
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Yeah, But I have to say that he had college courses,
master courses, and several different philosophies after, you know, he
left the university because he never stopped studying.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
He had tons of books.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
You know, and we used to wonder when do you
read these? And he read them at the office because
he'd go back every night to the office. He'd come
in to have dinner with us, and then by seven
thirty eight o'clock he was back to the office.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
I heard you did the same thing. At the Pennsylvania
Humor Relations Commission. He was always the leading because of
care bottom line of care and that's you know, that's tough.
I want to talk about how he got to the
Kansas Commission on Civil Rights from that? Was that from
where he.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Well, okay, well, when we left Kansas, he went to
the Kansas Commission and he was just a regular field
officer and he continued there and he was doing better
and continued to be promoted, and then he suddenly got
the job offer to be the director executive director of
the Omaha him the Relations Commission. So we went and
(14:23):
we lived in Omaha for a year. Uh and he
did so well in Omaha that when the position came
available in Kansas with their Civil Rights Commission, they brought
him back and that's how we ended back into Peka.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
I see, okay, that's when I popped up, popped up,
you guys. I know, Jase had shared the story with me,
and this really impressed me. Tell us about the connection
with Martin Luther King.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
That was something I didn't even know about, and he
had talked about it years ago when I was young,
but it really didn't stick with me and resonate because
that was such a young kid. Basically he was at
the University of Kansas State our arch rival, and he
was going to presentation in which several leaders, including Doctor King,
(15:14):
were on stage to discuss a certain topic. And what
we didn't know was a week later, Doctor King would
be assassinated and one of the things they found in
his pocket was a piece of paper with my dad's
name on it.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
And it was mainly because Doctor King wanted to remember
who was on stage with him.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Note what happened to note everything?
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (15:41):
Wow, I don't know what was on the note.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Yeah, but I didn't realize that until I was like
fifty fifty five.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Yeah, it was.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
He didn't talk about a lot of that stuff much,
but he did mention it a few times, and it
was more powerful the older we were.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Oh yeah, Oh, of course you don't realize that, you know,
because I've often said, you know these kids that they
don't realize. First of all, you're raising a kid, and
all of a sudden they think they know anything till
they're maybe twenty five. Then mom and dad got real
smart all of a sudden. But as you do get older,
you do appreciate you find things out. And that's why
I always encourage people talk to your grandparents. There's a
(16:22):
whole lot of stuff that you don't know about them,
you know that you're gonna want to share with your
kids or whoever other people. I want to talk and
if first of all I would like to talk switch
here's a little mister Warren and talk to you about
the award that you gave to these kids. Listen to
kids you're not kids recently posthumously for their father. Can
(16:46):
you talk about that? It's a Dolphin County Bar Association's
award Judge Clarence cy Morrison Moore.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I'd be pleased to talk about it.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Please.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
The Adolphin County Bar Association for about twenty years has
had a little bit more than twenty has had an
Equal Professional Opportunity Committee and that committee annually is an
award in the name of Clarence Morrison, who was the
first black.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Judge, and.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Ordinarily we have been pleased to award contributions to the
advancement of diversity to law firms to individuals. Lawyer connected
Homer Floyd was the first non lawyer to receive the award.
(17:36):
I've had the pleasure of nominating him. You'd say, well,
isn't that a little bit of a departure Not if
you really understood what he was and what he was
able to do. He probably knew more law than all
the rest of us put together. At least he knew
more law than me. He contributed tremendously to law, not
(17:57):
only in Pennsylvania, but really internationally. He was known nationally
and internationally as a leader. And what occurs to me
looking over some of the particulars in his resume is
the leadership aspect. But the committee was unanimous, and it
(18:18):
was because he was so much more than just an
administrator shuffling papers. It was his leadership characteristics.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
You know what, You're a pretty sharp guy. And I
know you had told me that you had worked in
state government for a number of years. Did you know
of him when you were?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Well his reputation I probably had passing conversations with him
over the years, But it was his reputation that caused
me to make the nomination and had caused the committee
to give him this recognition, albeit posthumously. His reputation was
so strong and in quiet ways do I reflect what
(18:57):
his two children here have mentioned about him. He was
His leadership style was substantive, it was quiet. Everybody knew
and recognized the skill that he brought to very complex
and emotional, sometimes quite antagonistic situations. He was a person
(19:21):
who is very demeanor, would calm the boiler, the roiling waters,
as you say. And that's how he was able to
handle so much and accomplish so much.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
So he was a guy that could work both sides
of the aisle. He listened. He had the talent of listening, right. Oh,
that was a talent.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
But he wasn't working both sides of the aisle.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
He was he understoltically what I'm saying, two different versions
of something going.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
On, yes, which you would say normally would be irreconcilable.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Yes, yeah, pretty much, but he was.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
He had that. He had the reputation for bringing those
kinds of capabilities and his ship style cops props up,
I mean everything from being captain of a football team
in racially segregated how about that. Yeah, think about that.
That was a recognition of some characteristics that are quite uncommon.
(20:19):
And then he chose a career with major accomplishments. Had
have the benefit of some notes from Trent Hargrove, who
is a lawyer in town also a member of Equal
Professional Opportunity Comittee, and he brought some personal experiences to him.
You know, he Cheryl mentioned the fact that he benefited.
(20:44):
Homer benefited from guidance and interaction and mentorship from all
kinds of people. That's what Homer Floyd was in the bar.
He was somebody who you know, let's face it, we're
striving to increase diversity in Gulphin County, in central Pennsylvania generally,
that's the purpose of the committee. So young and middle
(21:08):
aged and sometimes older black attorneys, you know, would take
counsel with him, and he was available for that always.
I'm not surprised to hear about his work ethic, because
you couldn't accomplish all the things that he accomplished and
all the quiet things he did without putting in a
(21:29):
tremendous effort. And I'm really kind of pleased to hear
about his practice of coming home for dinner and not
forgetting his family obligations. And we have two wonderful adults
scenario with uslutely who are the best evidence of his accomplishments.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
You know what I have to say, I had a
discussion with you, and I called you about this, and
you're the gentleman that reminded me is we still do
have heroes in this country, and sometimes we forget it.
And I thank you for that because I need to
hear that once in a while. Guys, I want to
ask you. Go ahead, Jason.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
I was so in two things.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
One was that my father was appointed back in nineteen
sixty nine by a Republican governor here in Pennsylvania, and
until he retired in twenty eleven, he every new governor that.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Came in had the House of the Money right.
Speaker 4 (22:28):
To fire him and replace.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
Them maybe nuts, and they kept him both Republican and Democrat,
and that was something he was very proud of.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
And I am not familiar with anybody who had that
kind of a tenure in state government. Maybe in the
early twentieth century. There's something that I don't know anything about,
but certainly nobody.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Recently did he Who were his heroes? Did he ever
talk about he was growing up or it was not.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Everybody, they're good Marshall. He talked about so many different
people he'd met, particularly in the love that you know
that he had pictures with h The second point I
was going to say was I was going to thank
my jentlemen on the leftier because many, many different attorneys
influenced my father to the point where he realized that
(23:18):
the law was what he needed most on his side
to win a lot of these battles. He understood that
change comes through peace, but also it's enforced by the law.
And as long as you can have a great relationship
with lawyers to understand how the whole process worked and
(23:40):
every stage to accomplish this. I have to say thank
you for that, because you know that was important.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Very important.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Well, you know what, we all know who he was
professional and who he was the Pennsylvanian rest of the country,
and he had a heck of a lot of impact
on the rest of the country too. But for you
guys ask of this, do you recognize any of his
traits in yourselves? Well, I know you're Jasey said he
(24:11):
was tough, and I get that. What about you show
you are very kind and supportive and the same kind
of person that your guys seems to me? And I
know jac he's got a heart looks.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
Huge, absolutely, probably bigger than it should be. Yeah, we
know that there were a lot of things that I
really admired in my father. The humility was just tremendous.
I mean, the idea that he had accomplished all these
things and he could come home and just be my dad.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Oh wow, that was a big thing.
Speaker 5 (24:47):
And there were so many people that I would meet
along my side that would say, oh, my god, Homer's
your dad. Oh he did all these things for you.
Let me tell you about this. Oh I got to
get you connected to them. And I was thinking, but
this is just my dad, but he is humility and
because he was doing it out of sincerity, out of
(25:07):
a commitment, out of love, you know, to help folks.
I think I kind of picked up on some of
that because the work that I do, it really is
a genuine desire to help people as opposed to being recognized.
And a lot of times I'm behind the scenes and
I might be doing all the work, but I'd rather
be behind the scenes because my commitment is to make
(25:29):
sure that whoever I'm working with is getting the support
and the help that they need. So I learned that
from him. Education was a big thing with him. I
already knew I was going to college because he had.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Already worked in went to Kansas, I know that.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
Know.
Speaker 5 (25:47):
I went to Clarion University, and then I went on
to get my master's at Temple, you know, okay, but
he was it was about education. You gotta get an education.
And Jeff knows this more he experienced it because he's older.
But you're going to college. So it was all kind
of laid out. And when I went, I begrudgingly went,
(26:08):
you know, I went through, and then later on I
realized this is why he wanted me to go, because
it opened doors and opportunities for you that you didn't have.
There was a lot of things that I really liked
about Dad.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
I was a daddy's girl, you know, and so you're
the girl. Yeah, I was like, he was extra strict
with you.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
Well, he was strict with me, but he also there
was a connection that I felt with him that was
more important, I think than any other connections in my life.
Growing up, Mom and you know, we were all really close.
But something about my father and he always provided for us.
(26:52):
There was never anything we ever wanted. He also taught
us about being independent because there was a time where
women were supposed to stay home and get married and
be housewives, and he said, no, you're going to have
some skills and going to be take care of yourselves.
Are some of the things.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Jasy, we got three minutes left. Tell me what about
your dad, how he influenced you? What do you think?
Speaker 4 (27:14):
Well, he influenced me in two ways.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Number One, he taught me the importance of being able
to speak proper English and to basically be able to
convey yourself. So I think that did a lot for radio.
But I was also the biggest disappointment in the family,
unlike my sister and my brother, because I didn't finish college.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
But look, look what you've done, and look what you do.
Sometimes to think of formal education.
Speaker 5 (27:41):
Well, you know there's people that have some educations.
Speaker 1 (27:43):
There was the biggest students, absolutely absolutely you were going
to say that was him.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Well, guys, I have something quick to add. His successor
wrote an article appearing in June twenty second. You have
Patriot News, and I'd recommend pulling that article out for
anybody that wants. Yeah, I mean your introduction was excellent,
Thank you, dere and this article compliments that, and it's
(28:13):
really what prompted me to suggest award.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
You know what, I'm glad you said that because that's
what I was going to ask these guys, how can
we read more about this awesome guy? You said what
it was in them?
Speaker 2 (28:25):
What June twenty second article in the Patriot?
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Patriot?
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Okay, Chad Lassiter, who's the new I guess since I
don't know when Executive director of the Human Relations Commission.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
Okay, that sounds great.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
It was even better. That's our brother's birthday, is that right?
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh. Well, I'm the kind
of person that truly believes people are put on this
or they're put in situations for a certain reason. And honestly, god,
I'm sure that's what happened with your dad, and I could.
I wish I would have known about this before he
got seck. But like you said, he probably wanted to
talk talk to me anyway. But I what an honor?
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Do know?
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Somebody like that? So, mister Warren, thank you, thank you
so much for coming in and sharing your stories, and
for the wonderful award that you gave mister Floyd and
Charlon and jac Thank you for those goofy stories about
your dad and wonderful stories about your dad, and for
my listeners. When you think about the many laws to
protect all of us from discrimination, things that inturior rights
(29:23):
and workplaces, schools, housing, public liking more. Please remember it's
all because of the former executive director of the Pennsylvania
Humor Relations Commissioner. And there's six governors Homer C. Floyd.
There is no legacy such as the one that he's left.
I'm Sylvia Moss, listening inside every Sunday hour in one
of our Tennight Hearts stations, or anytime on your favorite
(29:44):
podcasts app Thanks so much for listening, See you next week.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
It was a step that a boat were scat
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