Willie H. Blankston
(1923-1998)

Died aged c. 75

Willie H. Blankston was born in 1923 and came to Fort Walton Beach in 1949 where for 45 years he was a civil rights advocate. He encouraged African-Americans to register and vote. His 1976 lawsuit resulted in 130 jobs earmarked for minorities at Eglin Air Force Base. He was the founder of the Progressive Community Improvement Organization, which sought solutions to problems facing the African- American community. In 1994, he received the Okaloosa-Walton Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award for his civil rights efforts. The local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference gives an annual award named in his honor. Willie Blankston died in 1998.

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