State Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a towering figure in Orlando-area politics for many and an advocate for African American history, died Thursday at 76 following complications from knee replacement surgery, according to a statement from her family.
Thompson, a Democrat representing western Orange County, was first elected to the Florida House in 2006 and served over the years multiple terms in both House and Senate.
She founded the Wells' Built Museum of African American History and Culture in Parramore, preserving the stories and memorabilia of the Civil Rights movement as well as African Art.
In 2003, she authored the Orlando book in the Black America Series, recounting 150 years of Black history in the city.
"I think we have to teach authentic history," Thompson said in a Central Florida Public Media interview in June 2023. "We have to be real and present an unvarnished version of what happened. ... We cannot celebrate our triumphs without recognizing our trials."
The short statement from her family said she died peacefully surrounded by family members.
She was more than a politician, the family said. "She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother whose love, wisdom and compassion shaped their lives and the lives of so many in the community and across the state."
The Rev. Dr. Robert M. Spooney, pastor at a Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Orlando, said she loved to educate the youth about history. She would bring busloads of children to his church to hear the stories of older African Americans.
Spooney, too, said she was more than a politician. "I've always looked at her as more so of being a voice for the people, a champion for the people, whose mantra was always doing the right thing.
"Senator Geraldine Thompson was a force—a trailblazer, a historian, a fierce advocate, and a devoted mother and grandmother who worked every day to uplift all Floridians, ensuring that no one was left behind," U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, said in a prepared statement.
"Her impact and legacy of service, resilience, and unwavering love for her community will be felt for generations to come. ... We lost a giant, but her work lives on in all of us."
According to her Senate biography, Thompson was a retired college administrator. She was married to Senior Judge Emerson R. Thompson Jr., the Ninth Judicial Circuit's first Black judge, who served as county, circuit court, and appellate judge.
She had three children and six grandchildren. She was also a great-grandmother.
The family asked for privacy, saying information on the funeral would come later.
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