Virgil Hawkins, director of public relations at Bethune-Cookman College, applied for admission to the University of Florida (UF) College of Law, the only public law school in the state. Despite his academic and professional qualifications, the Florida Board of Control rejected his application because he was Black. Hawkins sued, asking the Florida Supreme Court to order the Board to admit him. In response, the Board offered to pay for Hawkins to attend a separate but equal law school in another state. Alternately, they offered to let him attend a new law school at Florida A & M University (FAMU), a school for Black students. They said that he could take classes at UF until this new school could be made equal. Hawkins and his NAACP attorneys argued that white students did not have to leave the state and said asking him to do so was unfair. Though Hawkins and his lawyers also turned down the FAMU plan, the Court ruled that this plan satisfied the requirements of the equal protection clause in the U.S. Constitution. Hawkins continued to fight for the right to attend UF. His court battles went on for nine years. Even when he seemed to be victorious in court, racist state politicians and the Board of Control found new ways to block him, keeping him engaged in time-consuming and costly legal battles. Tired and broke, Hawkins finally agreed to withdraw his application in 1958 in exchange for UF’s promise to admit Black students in the near future. UF's first Black law student was admitted in September 1960. Hawkins went to school in Boston, earning a law degree from New England Law School in 1964. The school was not recognized by the Florida Bar, so he could not practice law in the state until an exception was made in 1976 when he was 70 years old. After his lengthy struggle for equality, the court said Hawkins had a “claim on this court’s conscience.” He passed away in 1988, and has since been recognized by UF’s law school for his leadership in securing equal rights. [346 words]