The Civil Rights Movement aimed to outlaw racial discrimination against African Americans.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama, and the Greensboro Sit-Ins in North Carolina were only a couple of the countless protests against injustices across the nation.

There were people who fought the fight locally.

Everyone recognizes who Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is. Rosa Parks is a familiar name and face.

But, you may not know Bishop Holifield. Holifield also played a part in the Civil Rights Movement.

"I'd rather let my actions speak for themselves." He says.

Holifield's actions spoke loudly right here in our community. He took part in a number of protest marches in his day.

Holifield says, "The experience was very personal for me."

Holifield helped desegregate City of Tallahassee swimming pools in the 1960s.

The now 66-year-old was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Tallahassee.

As a teenager, he was on the all-black Robinson Trueblood Swim Team. The Tallahassee Swim Team was only for white kids.

"We never swam against each other. but, we both existed here in the same city together."Says, Holifield.

Holifield says there were three city pools -- two for whites, one for blacks. He says in 1964, he and a group of protesters marched to City Hall and picketed to demand that the swimming pools be integrated.

Holifield says the city's response was to close all three pools. So, they marched again and picketed again. In 1967, Holifield says they were able to get the city to do a straw ballot.

He says, "The City of Tallahassee actually voted to reopen its swimming pools on an integrated basis. So, we won that fight. The pools were reopened and they remained reopened and integrated up until today."

Holifield says his sister, Marilyn Holifield, was one of three black students to integrate Leon County public schools.

He says she went from FAMU High to Leon High School in the 10th grade.

"There was verbal abuse. They had eggs thrown at them. These kinds of things were personal." He recalls.

Tallahassee was home to many civil rights activists, like one of the organizers of the Tallahassee bus boycott, C.K. Steele and John G. Riley, who was born a slave and died a millionaire.

Will Guzman, an African American History Professor, says, "Our ancestors, those that survived and even those that died in order to honor their memory, this is why I think Black History is important. A second reason, of course, is to learn the lessons of the past, to learn from our experiences so we can grow and become better."

Holifield says it took strong leaders, brave followers, and unwavering supporters to win the battles of segregation.

"But, the fight's not over." He says.

Holifield says he protested in marches led by Patricia Stephens Due.

In 1960, Due and other FAMU students launched the nation's first "jail-in" during the civil rights movement. Due died last Tuesday.

Tune in to Live at Five Friday, 24th, as we continue our special reports on Black History Month. Eyewitness News Reporter Matt Galka
will profile a person in South Georgia who has made a big impact on black history.