Skip to content
WATCH • EQUALITY & CIVIL RIGHTS

Voices on the Trail: Lumon May

David Jolly for Florida Published: 2026-05-21 Last updated: 2026-05-21
Lumon May stands inside a Pensacola community center once used as a hub of racism

Key moments

0:05

"A lot of people love to change the world, but you can't change the world till you change your neighborhood."

1:05

"It was once a building of hate and bigotry. But today, it's a building of life. It's a place of learning. It's a place of hope."

1:53

"We've come such a long way. But we certainly recognize that although we've come a long way, we have a long way to go."

What this video is

In this Voices on the Trail conversation, Florida community leader Lumon May stands inside a Pensacola building in Brownsville that was once a hub of hate and turned it into a place of learning. This is a story about a neighborhood, not a slogan.

Why it matters

The story runs alongside a campaign that treats diversity as a strength, not a threat. David Jolly's own framing is that celebrating everyone's dignity is not a zero sum game.

Transcript

Verified transcript of the video above.

0:05 The slogan at my dad would say that, you know, a lot of people love to change the world, but you can't change the world till you change your neighborhood. And so that's what I've tried to do. And I remember the purchase of this building, and we came in and there were no windows, nothing was cut. It was all dark and going upstairs, and we could see the Grand Wizard cheer.
0:30 When you walked in, it was just an eerie feeling of, oh my God. I mean, how can right in the heart of Pensacola, where we grew up, right in Brownsville, in the community center, that it would be a hub of racism. It would be a hub of hate and discontent. And so as we kind of walk through, some people would get angry.
0:48 But for me, I said, you know, I remember the Scripture says my people perish because of their lack of knowledge. And I said, you know, sometimes ignorance promote subjectivity. We become subject to some things that we're not aware of. And so I've made it my purpose to educate children to not hide what this building was, but to reflect on what this building is and what it can become.
1:05 It was once a building of hate and bigotry. But today, it's a building of life. It's a place of learning. It's a place of hope. And in some way, you know, when we look back, generations, uh, and, you know, unfortunately, there are probably people who are still alive who experience, uh, the hate that happened right here in Brownsville where people were afraid to walk.
1:28 And some of the seniors that were upstairs, they were like, well, as a kid, we couldn't walk through Brownsville. We were not allowed to walk through Brownsville. So in some ways, uh, you know, you say, you know, I can walk through here, you know, and we've come such a long way. We've come such a long way in America, in the state of Florida. We've come so far
1:53 in understanding how important that to be. You know, Republicans, uh, Democrats, independents, MP's that we can all work together for a common good. And, um, this building is a building that shows that it shows love and it shows hope. Today, uh, we don't look back, we look forward. But we certainly recognize that although we've come a long way, we have a long way to go.

Related questions

Who is Lumon May?

Lumon May is a Florida community leader featured in the campaign's Voices on the Trail series. In this video he stands inside a building in Brownsville, Pensacola, that had once been used as a hub of racism, and describes turning it into a place of learning and hope. See the video at 0:30 for his account of walking through the building for the first time.

What does the David Jolly campaign say about diversity?

The campaign's view is that diversity is a strength, not a threat, and that using it as a topic of division represents a moral failing.[1] Jolly frames providing justice and equity for everyone as not a zero sum game. It does not take equity and dignity from anyone to give equity and dignity to someone else.[1]

What is the difference between defending rights and celebrating dignity?

Jolly draws a distinction between the two. Defending everyone's rights follows the Constitution as a playbook, and the courts usually work in our favor. Celebrating everyone's dignity is a cultural conversation about whether we are a nation strong enough to celebrate everyone. Both are at the core of his campaign for governor.[1]

What is Voices on the Trail?

Voices on the Trail is the campaign's series of first-person conversations with Floridians. Different backgrounds. Different beliefs. Same understanding. The full plan on equality and civil rights lives on the issue hub. This page stays focused on Lumon May's story.

More on this topic

OverviewEquality & Civil Rights

Sources

  1. David Jolly on diversity, dignity, and the rights-vs-dignity distinction (video) , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZC03oRtma0 · 2026-03-12

A building that was a hub of hate is now a place of hope.

Have a question for David? Visit the Town Hall and ask.