City of Rochester
News Release
(Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023) – When we use the
expression “standing on the shoulders of giants,” we are talking about men like
Minister Franklin D. Florence, bar none.
Minister Florence was a giant among giants in Rochester’s
proud legacy of social justice and civil rights. Fittingly, his name and image
are now embedded into the city landscape: On a mural on the outer wall of East
High School alongside Malcolm X and Connie Mitchell; and as the namesake of the
Minister Franklin D. Florence Civil Rights Heritage Site at Baden Park.
Since his arrival in Rochester in the 1950s, Minister
Florence graced our community and the national stage with a dynamic voice that
championed the concerns of Black Americans and the universal causes of social
justice. In the words of the late Congressman John Lewis, Minister Florence was
never afraid to get into “good and necessary trouble” to expose racial and
systemic injustice across wide range of issues. These included: quality
housing; criminal justice and corrections; fair labor practices; equitable
education, child welfare and generational poverty.
A man of God, Minister Florence has gone home to the Lord living his faith as the earthly embodiment of
Proverbs 31:8-9: “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who
are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the
poor and needy.”
My prayers and deepest condolences are with his family,
congregation and many, many friends. The city of Rochester is truly blessed to
have been the home and canvas of grace of Minister Franklin D. Florence, a
giant among giants.
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