GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – The city of Gainesville is remembering a local civil rights leader, politician, and the first African American member of the Alachua County School Board.
City officials announced Monday that Charles. S Chestnut III, a former Alachua County Commissioner from 1992 to 2000 has died at the age of 83. He was the husband of Gainesville City Commissioner Cynthia Moore Chestnut.
According to the city of Gainesville, Chestnut served on the Alachua County School Board from 1976 to 1992. They say he played a ‘pivotal role’ in the history of Gainesville and north-central Florida.
Chestnut, a graduate of the former all-Black Howard High School in Ocala and Bethune-Cookman University worked as a local leader in the Civil Rights Movement. City officials say he organized sit-ins at local Woolworth’s counters that were whites-only.
“His shoulders were the shoulders that so many, not only here in Florida, but around the country, stood on,” said Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward.
He was also the owner of Chestnut Funeral Home and earned his degree from the Eckels School of Mortuary Science in Philadelphia.
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Chestnut is survived by his wife Cynthia Chestnut and six children, including Alachua County Commissioner Charles “Chuck” Chestnut IV, and local attorney Chris Chestnut.
“Throughout his life, he continued speaking truth to power. Unconquered here on earth, his legacy will continue to lift us up and his light will continue to shine. This is a lifetime of good work that will roll onward. We thank his family for sharing Charles Chestnut with all of us for all these decades. His loved ones are in our hearts as they celebrate this remarkable life,” added Ward.
Chestnut was a U.S. Army veteran and a member of the NAACP, Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.