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Wingate Landfill Activist Getting Honorary Degree From Law Center
The dusty files and environmental soil reports stacked in her home have been her life. The neighbors who once lived near the now-closed Wingate landfill, who died of cancer in clusters, were more than just Leola McCoy's friends, but her people. For more than 20 years, McCoy, 67, has rallied a community, lobbied Congress, raised her voice, cursed if needed, and urged federal, state and local officials to remove toxins left behind at the old Wingate landfill in a black community in Fort Lauderdale. On Sunday, Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad Law Center will award her with an honorary doctor of law degree for her environmental crusade. She shares the stage with 231 Nova Southeastern graduates and Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul G. Cantero III, the first Hispanic to sit on the Florida Supreme Court, who will also get an honorary degree. The honor is usually reserved for those in the legal profession like judges and American Bar Association presidents, said Joseph Harbaugh, dean of the Shepard Broad Law Center. McCoy will be the first community activist to get the honor, he said. ''She has continued to monitor the environmental well being of Broward County,'' he said.
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