Biography
Floyd Gardner was an Iowa student active in protests against racial discrimination. He joined the 1962 Albany, Georgia demonstrations and was held in the city jail awaiting trial.
The Daily Iowan’s August 8–9, 1962 reports describe Floyd Gardner’s continuing confinement in Albany and his difficulty communicating with his parents. His letter, postmarked July 27, was smuggled out of jail. The August 8 report says he declined his father’s offer to post bond. In the letter Gardner feared a possible five-year contempt penalty; the August 9 editorial explains that the injunction was not in force at the time of the July 21 arrests and that the demonstrators would not be held for violating it. The feared five years was not an imposed sentence. These reports supply no exact release date or completed custody total.
The Daily Iowan, August 8, 1962, page 1. August 9, 1962, pages 1–2.
