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Floyd L. Griffin, Jr.

 

 

Floyd L. Griffin, Jr. celebrates an illustrious career as a U.S. Army colonel, war pilot, state senator, mayor, coach, and businessman. Floyd L. Griffin, Jr. parlayed a successful military career into a history-making sojourn in politics and community service as the first African American to be elected to the state Senate from Georgia’s 25th District. Griffin’s election to the Senate marked the first time since Reconstruction that a black candidate won office in a rural, majority-white legislative district in Georgia. Griffin’s leadership exemplifies his determined spirit.

His commitment to service and social activism began during the Civil Rights Movement, while as a student at Tuskegee Institute (University) in Alabama. As Georgia State Senator, Griffin directed allocations and grants to the counties he represented. He affected land deals and architectural improvements, and worked ardently to create legislation to help the State’s dairy farmers preserve their livelihood. He worked to ensure the financial stability of Georgia’s public schools and to guarantee that the General Assembly has a role in any decisions that are made regarding the privatization of state facilities and institutions. Six years later, he blazed another history-making trail when he became the first black mayor of his hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia.

When Floyd L. Griffin, Jr. talks about his career, military of political or professional, his passion for delivering exemplary service is evident. In business he manages a legacy – Slater’s Funeral Home, Inc. of Milledgville, GA - a family-owned perpetual care business that is poised to serve generations to come. A selfless high achiever, Griffin was a rising star, and decorated officer as a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam. His meteoric rise through the military ranks during a 23 year career promoted him to the rank of full Colonel with assignments at the battalion level with commands in Europe and the US. His colleagues marveled at his ability to tackle a variety of tasks while continuing to excel at his assigned duties. As Assistant Professor of Military Science at Wake Forest University, North Carolina his commitment to diversity among the Army’s officer corps led him to establish a cross-enrollment Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU).

While at Winston-Salem State he served as director of ROTC and coached the offensive backfield on two undefeated championship football teams. He was assigned to the Pentagon twice and served under the command of General Norman H. Schwarzkopf. Legacy to Legend: Winners Make it Happen is one man’s story of upholding his legacy as an independent achiever and provider to reach legendary accomplishment. Floyd Griffin is part of the new extraordinary crop of black professional talent that has produced the likes of himself, and many others in business, education and government to include President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Over the course of a lifetime of service to his country, Floyd Griffin became a national hero, a beacon of wise leadership and a trusted political figure. His model for success is winners make it happen.

He speaks regularly to students of leadership, policy and government and inspires them to find the answers to life’s most complicated problems. Griffin and his wife, Nathalie Huffman Griffin, are the parents of two sons, Brian and Eric, and have six grandchildren. http://legacytolegendbook.com

 

 

 

 

PageOneLit.com: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life? Who were your earliest influences and why?

 

Floyd Griffin: I grew up in Milledgeville and graduated high school from J. F. Boddie High School.  The school was segregated at the time (1962).  I did the necessary reading and writing for my school work and I read the Reader’s Digest, but when I was growing up, we didn’t have an extensive library at school.  I certainly never dreamed that I would write my autobiography.

 

 
 
PageOneLit.com: You begin LEGACY TO LEGEND WINNERS MAKE IT HAPPEN talking about your father - Briefly discuss and tell us about him.

 

Floyd Griffin: When I was growing up, Dad had a grocery store business and a wood delivery route.  He was an entrepreneur during a time when it was a very rare thing for a black man.  All of us were expected to work with him in whatever business he was in and there was a time for work and a time for play.  Dad was a strict disciplinarian, but he was also a man of great integrity.  He always did what he said he was going to do and he helped others as much as he could.  His example demonstrated to me that I could do and be anything that I could conceive of.

 

 

 

 

PageOneLit.com: Who was Sammy Younge?

 

Floyd Griffin: Sammy Younge will always be remembered as the first black student protester to die in this country, during the time when the civil rights movement was just heating up.  He was gunned down by a white racist for using the whites-only restroom as a gas station.  But Sammy was so much more than that.  He was a mechanical and industrial arts major at Tuskegee University and he was so fair-skinned that he could pass for white.  He would often go to Montgomery and rub elbows with unassuming well-to-do whites who thought he was white.  That’s just how he was – he flaunted the rules and always wanted to know why things were the way they were.  He wouldn’t, couldn’t settle for being second class to anyone. 

 

 

 

 

PageOneLit.com:  In LEGACY TO LEGEND WINNERS MAKE IT HAPPEN you write, "I am worried that the black community has become too comfortable." Explain. 

 

Floyd Griffin: My concerns are with that we have gotten too comfortable with a high class of living.  Most of our neighbors have decent jobs, drive nice cars and live in two-story homes.  And many of us will do anything to achieve that lifestyle – shoplifting, selling drugs, and murdering people.  Forgotten is all the work our forefathers put in during the Movement and the notion of helping each other come up.  We have gotten too comfortable with being a have, rather than a have-not.  That often happens a generation or two after the great movers and shakers who change our world for the better.

 

 

 

 

 

PageOneLit.com: You have accomplished a lot - Vietnam Veteran, Army Colonel, Football coach, Educator, State Senator and Mayor -- Is there anything you have not accomplished that you would like to accomplish?

 

Floyd Griffin: I’ve done just about everything that I wanted to do; I want to relax now. I’m not looking for anything in particular to do; I just want to be an elderly statesman.  I’m certainly not interested in running for office again.  I’m enjoying spending time with my wife and family and supporting my home community of Milledgeville.

 

 

 

 

PageOneLit.com: In LEGACY TO LEGEND WINNERS MAKE IT HAPPEN - There are some very special photos of you with President Obama and his wife Michelle - Tell us about meeting the President.

 

Floyd Griffin: I met President Obama in February of 2008 when he was running for the presidency, shortly before he spoke at Harvest Cathedral Church in Macon, Georgia.  He and I talked about the experience of my being the first black elected in a majority white senatorial district and the first black mayor of a predominately white southern city.  He could relate to my experiences with this.

 

 

 

 
PageOneLit.com: Your model for success is "Winners make it happen." Explain.

 

Floyd Griffin: I think that anyone who strives to be success in life must have a winning attitude.  Believing in oneself gives an individual the drive to go out and make things happen.  It’s a continuous process – a daily thing.  If you want to win, you have to make it happen.  There’s a difference between a dreamer and a doer.

 

 

 

 

PageOneLit.com: You speak regularly to students, what do you tell them that will help them achieve their dreams and desires?

 

Floyd Griffin: When I speak, I talk about my life story.  It’s a testimony – the struggles, the challenges, setting my goals; and then the preparation (an education).  Getting along with others is also important; it’s difficult to move forward if you’re always experiencing conflict with those around you.  I teach that a person’s attitude must be positive; every winner I’ve ever met had a positive attitude.

 

 

 

 
PageOneLit.com: What do you hope to achieve with LEGACY TO LEGEND WINNERS MAKE IT HAPPEN?

 

Floyd Griffin: Of course, I would like to sell the book and I would especially like to get it into the hands of as many young African American men as possible.  This book is a road map to success, written by someone who grew up in the Deep South amid segregation, went to college and had a successful career, not to mention a fabulous marriage and two successful sons.

 

 

 
PageOneLit.com: What was the last book you read?

 

Floyd Griffin: The last book I read was Success Runs in our Race by George C. Fraser.  It’s about how blacks, all the way from slavery to the present, have risen above the struggles and ups and downs and become successful.  The book also discusses the benefits of networking and how we should mentor our young people. 

 

 
PageOneLit.com: What's next?

 

Floyd Griffin: Rest and relaxation; waiting for the Lord to give me direction for what He would like me to do next.

 

 

 

 

PageOneLit.com: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance your writing?

 

Floyd Griffin: I’ve never had time for hobbies, but when I do have free time, I like to watch sports, especially football.  I really enjoy traveling with high school and college football teams to support them; that’s how I unwind and get away.  I enjoy basketball too.  I don’t know that my method of relaxing enhanced my writing; I simply wanted to offer inspiration and good, common sense advice to any young black, man or woman, who has a dream, but might not believe that the dream can become a reality.