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The section of South Street that runs in front of the downtown Orlando’s Wells’Built Museum of African American History and Culture was officially renamed Senator Geraldine F. Thompson Way during the 2025 legislative session.
On Friday, a new road sign, next to the museum, was unveiled to mark the roadway, between South Division Avenue to U.S. 441, in a ceremony hosted by the City of Orlando and emceed by Jasmyne Dumars, one of the late senator’s granddaughters. It was attended by Thompson’s extended family and numerous community leaders, who came out to honor Thompson’s memory and legacy.
The senator died in February at 76, following complications from knee surgery.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer quipped that Thompson could now add “literally stopped traffic” to her achievements, a reference to the closure of South Street for the morning event.
“ She leaves a lasting legacy here in our community, and I truly would count her as one of the people that has helped to make Orlando the welcoming community that it is in the city that embraces diversity in the fashion that it does,” Dyer told the crowd. “We'll always be grateful to her in this honorary designation.”
State Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis who won a special election in September to finish Thompson’s term in the Legislature, gave the keynote, saying, “This road designation is more than a marker; it's a declaration. It says she was here. It says she mattered, and it says she made impact. Every person who passes this way will encounter her name, and every generation to come will be reminded that history lives among us — not only in museums and books, but in the everyday past of our community.”
VoxPopuli talked with many of the politicians — many who had worked with Thompson or were inspired by her — and community leaders who came out to the unveiling about the significance of the road sign. Here’s what they told us.
This is really important because it's one of many things this community is doing … is gonna do to honor her memory, honor her legacy, which is about fighting for what you believe in fighting for education, fighting for the history of this nation at a time where we have a president and a governor that wants to strip away the history, right?
She was a historian, she was an advocate, she was an organizer, and she'll forever be a part of this community. And so this is I think very, very fitting that you have a road named after her.
I just think it's so important for us to be here and honor the legacy of Geraldine F. Thompson. When you think about us renaming this road, Geraldine F. Thompson Way, you know, it's because she's paved roads for so many people, created avenues of opportunity for folks across Central Florida. So I think it's really appropriate for us to do this and I'm so honored to be a part of it today.
Geraldine Thompson, obviously, is the legend of this community, as is her husband, [former Chief Judge] Emerson Thompson. But Geraldine was such a great leader, a great senator. I really enjoyed my relationship with her as a personal relationship, but also politically. She was just really a good advocate. I think it was said she made “good trouble.” She's got things done. So I'm very pleased to be here for this dedication.
I think it is important that we honor the life and legacy of those who paved the way, especially for Sen. Geraldine Thompson who committed her life's work to public service and to uplifting the community that was around her. And so this codifies and solidifies that as people, generations to come, as they come through this area, they will know the name Geraldine Thompson because it is important for us to remember those who made positive impact in the community. And she did just that.
It's critical to remember her legacy and her lasting impact that will go for generations. I mean, she was a civil rights leader. She was a leader on education, on so many different issues that transcended partisan politics and really made an impact on the community. I can't think of a better tribute than to see this street named Senator Geraldine F. Thompson Way. It was an honor of mine to serve alongside her in the Florida House and in the Florida Senate, and I even wore this scarf today in her honor because she was also a fashionista who loved to wear her scarves every day. Just a little way to remember her.
It's important because history is being erased and forgotten and when you erase the history, you repeat the sins of the past because it’s not remembered by the people that are living today and in the future. And it makes it okay to do what they're doing in terms of iteration. But this is important because hopefully this will be lasting. Nobody will take shots at it, use it for target practice. But you know, there's so much hatred in this world.
It's hard to put into words what a day like today means, but when I think about this as a young man that was born and raised in this community, oftentimes people don't understand the hard work and dedication, sacrifice and commitment it takes to build a prosperous, diverse city, county, region, and state.
And days like today, I think, are gentle but powerful reminders of all of the work that goes into building a better home for people of all walks of life. Sen. Thompson was a trailblazer, not only for people in her community, but for people across the state, across the country. And seeing the torch passed to the next generation of leaders, like Senator LaVon Bracy Davis, is powerful, and it inspires hope in me, and I hope it inspires hope in the new generation to continue to fight for the rights that we deserve in this country and not forget where we came from. So it means a lot in the political sense, but it means a lot in the human side and the human essence of what it means to be a servant leader and to fight for a better future.
She is a icon in our community. What she's done here with the Wells'Built was incredible. And as a mom of a biracial black woman, I feel like ... history has been under attack, and so any way that we could have helped get this done, we were proud to be a part of it.
We had a bill that would honor [hotelier] Mr. Harris Rosen — the road designation bill. So with the unfortunate passing of Sen. Thompson, Rep. Bracy Davis came to me and said, Could I amend this to your bill? And I said, Absolutely. And honestly, I don't think that Harris Rosen would've wanted it any other way either. It really was a testament to both of them, so I was happy to do it. And I feel so grateful to be a part of this day. Every time we pass by here, it's going to bring a smile to my heart, knowing that we are going to remember her. People, future generations, are going to know who she is.
I served with Sen. Thompson in the House for two years, and then luckily I was elected to the Senate and was hoping that I was going to get to spend some time with her again, but unfortunately, she did pass.
I was already sponsoring the Harris Rosen Way designation, so when I was in a committee and I was presenting it, actually one of the other senators that was there was like, Is this where we should do something for Senator Thompson? Like, we have to make sure that we're doing something to honor her.
So, of course, I reached out to Sen. [Bracy] Davis, and she reached out to the family to see what we could do and maybe coordinate to find the perfect location. Of course, they found the perfect location because if you know Sen. Thompson, you talked to her for more than a minute, she would speak privately about the museum and her work there. And of course, that's Division Avenue, which used to divide the segregated areas. For so many reasons, it's wonderful that we're honoring her, but this, we couldn't find a more perfect location.
We're excited that the residents and then our visitors, all the folks that are coming to see games and concerts will also see her name, so if they don't know her, maybe they'll look her up and find out some of the great work that she's done.
Sen. Thompson is legendary in this community, and it's really heartening to see the community come together to celebrate not just her, but her legacy and what she brought to the area, from education to AKA [sorority], to just being all over and ensuring that we were all educated on things that were going on. So her spirit is missed, but I know her soul is still around and getting to drive by this sign every day is a constant reminder of the work that's still ahead of us. So I really appreciate her legacy.
One thing that Sen. Thompson used to say to us all the time about people … she would look at people and say, Can't hear what you're saying 'cause I see what you're doing. And Sen. Thompson, you could see what she's doing. You could hear what she's saying. And this is an example of that. Her legacy, her words, her actions continue to ripple through the community. She's like the senator [Bracy Davis] said, a tree, she's a boulder. And when you drop a boulder in a lake, it spreads out. And that's what she's done for this community. She's taught me the importance of this community, and I grew up here, you know? I’m a local and I didn't know the stories around here. We lost a history book, you know?
Sen. Thompson was such a matriarch. She was one of my early mentors when I was a college democrat at UCF [University of Central Florida], getting involved for the first time. And it's so important for us to honor those that have transitioned. And this is a small but important way of doing that. Her impact goes far beyond any road designation, but it is a really beautiful way to honor her and to remind people of the legacy that she is and will always be.
I miss her so much. And I learned from her, like the idea that she inherently understood that policy had to be informed by history was something that I captured in my heart very early on. History matters, representation matters, and she understood this period of time that we have to fight for that. And like you cannot go into a policy decision without the diligence of exploring every single little nuance. To me, she was just well-researched. I miss her at the legislature because she was always the one ... she never let anything get by. And I took that and embedded it in my work ethic. There's not a single thing on that [county] agenda that I haven't researched.
