Tampa's Path to Equality Part 7: Live on Stage

Tampa celebrates a breakthrough in civil rights when the city’s first wave of sit-ins took off on February 29, 1960. High school students defied segregation at a Woolworth’s lunch counter and that inspired peaceful integration across the city. Craig Patrick reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa celebrates a breakthrough in civil rights when the city’s first wave of sit-ins took off on February 29, 1960. High school students defied segregation at a Woolworth’s lunch counter and that inspired peaceful integration across the city.

It also inspired a Stageworks play called, "When the Righteous Triumph" that’s coming to the Straz Center on March 6.

Tampa’s Path to Equality Part 6: The 'Tampa Technique'

The backstory:

A team of professors and historians helped provide background and research in developing the play. And a special collection of records, letters and pictures at the University of South Florida help reveal the remarkable story.

"And I thought I never knew any of this stuff. And, I don't think anybody around me knows this," said playwright Mark Leib. "I thought, what a great subject for a play."

A few years, and more than a few drafts later, his vision is playing out on stage.

Follow FOX 13 on YouTube

The two-hour play takes us through Tampa's first wave of sit-ins in 1960, when black students sat at a 'whites-only' lunch counter in Woolworth's. Tampa Mayor Julian Lane directed police to protect the students, and community leaders like Cody Fowler and Rev. A. Leon Lowry stepped in.

"And his theory is we've got to love them. If we love these people, it will eventually change everything," said Leib.

They negotiated with 18 stores to integrate them all with little fanfare and violence along the way.

"It seems to me that a lot of writing about Florida is madcap, zany, aren't we Bizarre," Leib said. "I wanted to show people that Florida has a certain gravitas as well. We've been through some extremely important moments in history."

PREVIOUS: Tampa's Path to Equality Part 5: The Breakthrough

Local perspective:

Stageworks commissioned the play and hosted it for a while.

"The reaction from the community was astounding to me," said Stageworks President Karla Hartley. "I think it's going to illuminate a very important part of our time."

Then, in 2025, Stageworks partnered with the Straz Center to bring it to a larger stage at the Jaeb Theatre. The producers also partnered with Tampa Bay area schools to offer matinées for student field trips.

"They will be able to look at today's racial problems with a little bit more intelligence and wisdom," said Leib.

They get an important lesson in civil rights and Florida history, and inspiration for challenging times.

MORE: Tampa’s Path to Equality Part 4: The Sit-ins

What they're saying:

"Theater is meant to bring two opposing folks together," Hartley said. "We're a society now who tends to not want to even hear another perspective. It's not a permanent fixture. We can overcome it. We can make sure that we're moving forward together. It just takes the time. It takes commitment and determination. But we can do it. We can solve these problems. We can do it without violence. We can do it together."

"This play illustrates what happens when people sit in a room together face to face, come to grips with each other's humanity and recognize that we have a lot in common that we can use to bridge our differences, our politics and our opinions. It's just human nature. 1960 was a very tough time. It worked then. It can work now," said Cody Fowler’s grandson and former Tampa U.S. Rep. Jim Davis.

Check out Stageworks and Straz Center for schedules and times.

Click below for previous parts of this special:

The Source: The information in this story was gathered through interviews with Mark Leib, Karla Hartley and Jim Davis. It also contains information used throughout FOX 13's Craig Patrick's "Tampa's Path to Equality" series.

WATCH FOX 13 NEWS:

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: