Growing up on the streets of Plant City during the height of segregation, Bernard Robinson was no stranger to breaking glass ceilings.
Now a highly-acclaimed doctor, Robinson attributes much of his success to the support of his true love and childhood sweetheart Shirley Perry, now Shirley Robinson. Through the decades the Robinsons ascended to academic and professional success. Together they accomplished the seemingly impossible and paved the way for generations to follow.
Bernard Robinson was one of the first African-American students at the University of South Florida, the first
African-American to join the military neurosurgical training program at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and one of the first African-American doctors at many of the hospitals he worked in during the following years.
His struggle toward equality and success is chronicled in his book “Two Ropes,” which he personally signed at an event Saturday at the Bing Rooming House Museum, 205 S. Allen St. It was the first time he’s held such an event and he said there’s nowhere else he would rather kickstart his book promotion than in the town he grew up in.
“You can end up doing a lot of first things when you’re black in America,” Bernard Robinson said. “It’s unfortunate that race still carries such a prominent characteristic in our national history. But I do think it needs to be looked at for how do we make that not a problem here? I should just be an American, and one day we won't be African-American this or Chinese-American this or a Caucasian’s only that, and that would make it a much, much nicer world. I think we are still a work in progress.”
His story is phenomenal and his obstacles were many. He overcame being severely burned and facing a threat of amputation, being constantly misjudged due to his race and having to constantly fight for the change he knew the world was desperately ready for.
His shrewd analysis of race relations, not only in Plant City but also in the world at large, paints a lesson readers won’t readily forget. The title of the book alone holds such weight that many in attendance at the book signing were dumbstruck as they digested the lessons the Robinsons learned throughout their lives.
“Two Ropes” references two different but equally impactful memories in Bernard Robinson’s life. When he and his siblings used to go fishing with their father as children he would often point out a rope hanging from a nearby tree. A black man had been hung there for wolf whistling at a white woman. His father made sure they looked at the rope and understood the lesson behind its warning.
His father had a unique friendship with a man by the name of Russell Brown. Brown was white, but the respect and camaraderie between the two was undeniable. Bernard Robinson’s father would often go help Brown at his service station.
One night, he had tossed a rope over a tree to use to pull an engine out of a vehicle. He had a prior engagement so he left before they could finish the extraction, promising Brown he would return in the morning.
He died that night. Brown left that rope tied to the tree for years in memory of his beloved friend.
“That’s the two ropes in my story. It starts with how awful it was and ends with hope of how it can be,” Bernard Robinson said.
He and Brown kept in touch over the years and Brown proudly joined him Saturday at the book signing, where he was swarmed with fans who wanted to hear his story.
Though the book has only been out for a handful of months, four movie companies are currently looking into potentially adapting it for the big screen, according to Bernard Robinson.
“Having been born and raised in Plant City and coming back here and seeing things as they have evolved is enlightening and encouraging, and just makes me feel like I’m running out of time as an old guy to help move the process further,” he said. “The only thing I can do is tell the story as I did in ‘Two Ropes.’”