“William ‘Bill’ Brodie — civil rights hero, math teacher — remembered in Tallahassee”

by Alaijah Brown, Tallahassee Democrat, 13 December 2024.

William “Bill” Brodie, a retired Florida A&M University math professor and civil rights activist, died in his sleep Saturday, Nov. 30, at a hospital in Celebration after respiratory failure.

The death was confirmed by his family. He was 90.

Brodie, active in many causes in Tallahassee but who shunned center stage, was known as a quiet hero to many. A strong advocate for protecting civil and human rights, he once shared an Atlanta jail cell with civil rights icon the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1960, following an arrest after a protest.

The Tallahassee Branch NAACP will honor his work and commitment with a celebration of life service at 12 p.m. on Dec. 20 at its headquarters at 719 W. Brevard St. Brodie served for 27 years as the treasurer for the Tallahassee NAACP branch.

“His legacy was one of commitment and it was clear that he was committed because of the impact that segregation and racism had on his life. He was able to be successful in spite of those things that he faced,” Tallahassee NAACP President Mutaqee Akbar told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Brodie remembered for dedication to causes

“I think my dad lived out loud, and he lived his truth out loud, and he was a champion for social justice,” his daughter Michelle Vereen of Marietta, Georgia, told the Tallahassee Democrat Wednesday. “He was really dedicated to education. He was a lifelong educator, even in death.”

Vereen told the Tallahassee Democrat that her father arranged to have his body donated to the University of Florida for research purposes.

Brodie, who also served several terms as treasurer for the board at the Bond Community Health Center over a span of 20 years, is fondly remembered for his dutiful dedication to its mission.

“He was instrumental in assuring that Bond remained fiscally sound. He will be hard to replace and sorely missed. It was my pleasure working with him,” Bond CEO Dr. Temple Robinson said.

In March, Brodie was honored at the 2024 Southeastern Conference for the Mathematical Association of America at the University of Tennessee after it was uncovered that he was one of four men who were turned away from the association’s 1960 conference’s host hotel in Columbia, South Carolina, because they were Black.

Brodie never had a ‘chip on his shoulder’

Brodie was a 27-year-old graduate student at Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta University) studying mathematics at the time. Instead of rerouting to a “colored” hotel in the city, the group decided to head back to Atlanta.

Sixty-four years later, he was honored by the prestigious association and issued a formal apology for the injustice committed against him.

In an interview in March ahead of the recognition, Brodie remained reflective.

“I was surprised and pleasantly so,” he said of the invitation. “I had no idea how they found me and that what I did then would come out now.”

That response is characteristic of Brodie’s demeanor, Akbar said: “It’s important to know that he continued to fight for social justice without having a chip on his shoulder.”

A passion for learning, encouraging

Brodie earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics at Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1958 [sic; 1955]. He graduated from Atlanta University with his master’s degree in mathematics in 1969. He then went on to study at the University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University and Indiana University, but never earned a doctorate degree, though he said that was never his goal.

He simply wanted to attend class and learn.

The mathematician landed in Tallahassee in 1979 and began teaching calculus at FAMU where he was a mentor to many. He retired in 2006, but remained active on campus in roles of advising students and tutoring scholarship recipients so they could stay on track to graduate.

In addition to Vereen, who lives in Marrietta, Georgia, Brodie is survived by his two other adult children, Lisa Norwood, who lives in Augusta, Georgia, and Brian Bynum who lives in Virginia, and five grandchildren.

“He was an unconventional parent but had high standards for his children and he supported us in meeting those high standards and expectations,” Norwood said.

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In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Henry Taborn, “dead”; wife Mattie, 45, cleaner; sons Bill, 21, Donnell, 17, and Berkley, 19; daughter Elmer Brodie, 27, cook; and her sons George, 8, Henry, 7, Robert, 3, and William Brodie, 5.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 909 East Green Street, Elma Brodie, 38; sons William, 16, and Robert, 13; and lodger Sam Ines [Ennis], 53, widower.

The Falcon (1955), yearbook of Saint Augustine’s College, Raleigh, N.C.