Two Florida Men

Compared

Ways in which the late Judge Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr., and Donald Trump were alike, and unalike:

Alike:

Both avid golfers.

Unalike:

            Ferguson, raised in public housing, was the son of Bahamian immigrants, his father a preacher. Trump, raised wealthy, is the grandson of a German barber/brothel-keeper/speculator who left Germany to avoid military service.

            Ferguson served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper, rising to the rank of captain. Trump had a friendly doctor certify him as having feet unfit for service.

            Ferguson was born in Miami. Trump declared Palm Beach his primary residence in 2019, perhaps illegally since he had signed an agreement with the town declaring Mar-a-Lago a private club, not a residence.

            Ferguson chaired governing boards for many non-profit corporations, including Florida Memorial College and the United Way. Trump was ordered to pay $2 million in damages to Army Emergency Relief, the Children's Aid Society, Citymeals-on-Wheels, the United Negro College Fund, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and other charities for illegally using charitable funds at the Trump Foundation for political purposes. Trump University was one of his many scams.

            Ferguson was appointed to a presidential panel that investigated the 1968 Liberty City riots. Trump encouraged a riot at the U.S. Capitol.

            Ferguson was especially vocal on issues affecting inner-city young men in the criminal justice system. Trump is especially vocal on issues affecting him.

            Ferguson is remembered as a soft-spoken "gentle giant" and a "pianist extraordinaire." Trump threw plates of spaghetti.

            Ferguson was honored by having the Federal courthouse in downtown Miami named for him. Trump was dishonored by being arraigned in that courthouse.