ORLANDO, Fla. — The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on behalf of plaintiffs, the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community (P.E.C.) and Hungerford descendant Bea Leach Hatler, will not appeal the court’s decision in Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. vs. School Board of Orange County, Fla. A recent ruling by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court granted judgment in favor of the School Board of Orange County, Fla., as it pertained to the sale and redevelopment of the remaining acres of the Hungerford Property, formerly the site of the Robert L. Hungerford Normal and Industrial School, located in Eatonville, Fla.
“While we are disappointed that the Court dismissed the lawsuit, our intention is to always act in the best interests of our clients. We have therefore chosen not to appeal the Court’s decision to grant the School Board’s motion for judgment on the pleadings,” said Kirsten Anderson, SPLC deputy legal director foreconomic justice. “The plaintiffs in this case have been resilient throughout the proceedings. Along with the Eatonville community, they have shown the state of Florida, and the nation, that Eatonville and the Hungerford Property are a sacred part of American history.”
“This lawsuit was about protecting the land and ensuring that the School Board followed its legal duties to safeguard the Hungerford Property, which was set aside by the community of Eatonville and charitable donors, including the Hungerfords — Ms. Hatler’s ancestors — for the education of the town’s children,” concluded Anderson. “The P.E.C. and Ms. Hatler continue to call on the School Board to return the property to the people of Eatonville so that they may exercise control over their own land for the future benefit of the town.”
The lawsuit, brought in March 2023, alleges that the Orange County Public School Board was acting outside of its legal authority. The School Board sought to dispose of the remaining 100 acres of the historic Hungerford Property, by not following a state statute governing disposal of school property. SPLC also asked the Court to declare that the School Board failed to legally release the 1951 deed restriction requiring the property be used for educational purposes. The intended sale of the Hungerford Property was cancelled shortly after the lawsuit was filed.
In November 2023, Judge Vincent Falcone III issued a preliminary decision in favor of the plaintiffs. In October 2024, a hearing was held before Judge Chad K. Alvaro where SPLC defended against the School Board of Orange County’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. Judge Alvaro denied the motion on December 31, 2024, as moot instead, dismissing the case for lack of jurisdiction because there is no longer a proposed sale of the Hungerford Property at issue.
Incorporated in 1887, Eatonville was one of the first incorporated all-Black municipalities in the United States and was home to acclaimed Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Eatonville, Fla., to its 2024 listing of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The annual ranking brings attention to sites significant to American history and at risk of destruction or irreparable damage.
The SPLC’s land justice work protects and defends land in historically and predominantly Black, Brown and Indigenous communities.
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About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.