The Rev. Kenneth Crossman
was known as a bridge builder, so it’s only fitting that the railroad bridge over U.S. Highway 17-92 at the Maitland-Winter Park line be named in his honor.
MAITLAND — The Rev. Kenneth Crossman had a way of bringing people together.
Inspired by the activism of Martin Luther King Jr., the minister, who was white, worked for decades fighting racial and religious divides. He became known as the “Bridge Builder” and spent much of his life in Central and South Florida, before he died in 2004 at 71. Now, a railroad bridge over U.S. Highway 17-92 at the Maitland-Winter Park line will be named in his honor as the Reverend Kenneth C. Crossman Bridge.
“I like to say he landed on the right side of history,” said John Crossman, the reverend’s son. “He had great relationships with all different kinds of people, and it started at a human level of loving and caring for one another.”
The bridge was named for him because of a bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott in June, which designated 37 roads and bridges for dignitaries.
Three other Central Florida roads were named in the bill for Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton, Orange County First Class Deputy Norman Lewis and former professional golfer and humanitarian Arnold Palmer. Clayton was killed in a gun battle with a murder suspect, and Lewis was killed in the ensuing manhunt for her killer.
The Rev. Crossman preached at several Central Florida churches, including the Broadway United Methodist Church in Orlando; First United Methodist Church in Winter Park; and Community United Methodist Church in Casselberry.
He also served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany from 1955 to 1957.
Kenneth Crossman often invited African American religious leaders to preach from his pulpit to his mostly white congregations. He also wasn’t afraid of publicly speaking out against the Ku Klux Klan.
The reverend’s activism was sparked by King’s assassination in 1968. He helped park cars at the massive Atlanta funeral, where the family was living at the time. “We decided then that we wanted to do something way bigger,” said his wife, Cecily Crossman.
He began his work advocating for social change in Central Florida and Tallahassee.
He became friends with then-state Rep. Dick Batchelor, and the two worked together encouraging African Americans to run for office and taking on civil rights causes, Batchelor said.
He said the reverend was one of the few and strongest voices in the white religious community in support of civil rights. “He was inspirational,” Batchelor said. “He was such a leader; a lot of us in the Legislature looked to him because of that.”
Now, on a busy stretch on U.S. Highway 17-92, signs are placed on the north and south sides designating the bridge.
John Crossman, a Valencia College trustee who also owns a commercial real estate business, said his father’s message was rooted in love and helping people — and he hopes the bridge becomes a tribute to that.
“I think we grew up in a house that had a tremendous amount of purpose,” he said. “I don’t really feel like this bridge is about my dad. The bridge is really about the celebration of living in a community where we listen to each other.”