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The first three inductees into Florida’s Civil Rights Hall of Fame were named today.

Former Florida Senator Claude Pepper, Mary Bethune, and C.K Steele were all inducted postmortem. Pepper sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment. Bethune created a school for black girls that later became Bethune-Cookman University. Steele protested segregation and helped organize the Tallahassee Bus Boycott. Florida Representative Alan Williams sponsored the bill that created the state Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

“The legacy built by these inductees is one we must carry today. We carry it now in our state’s history. We must carry it with everything that we do,” said Williams.

The Civil Rights Hall of Fame is located on the first floor of the state capitol. Plaques with a picture and story of each inductee will be posted on the wall. Every year someone who fought for civil rights in Florida will be added.