Florida Humanities awards over $68,000 in Grants for Cultural Programming

The Florida Humanities Council is pleased to award $68,480 in Community Project Grants to seventeen Florida organizations in support of vital humanities programming.

Community Project Grants provide up to $5,000 in funding to nonprofits and public institutions across Florida to develop and implement humanities-rich public programs that meet the needs of local communities. At their core, these competitive grants seek to preserve Florida’s diverse history and heritage, promote civic engagement and community dialogue, and provide communities the opportunity to reflect on the future of the Sunshine State.

The newly awarded grants are listed below, alphabetically by sponsoring organization. For a complete list of grants funded this year, click here.

Barry University (Miami Dade)
Cuba, so close yet so far – $5,000
Barry University in partnership with the Cuban Research Institute at FIU and Centro Cultural Español Miami will host a series of public programs that explore Cuba, particularly the Pedro Pan experience.

Circle of Community Leadership Inc. (Lee)
Civil Rights in the Sunshine State – $5,000
Circle of Community Leadership will host a series of public programs to complement “Civil Rights in the Sunshine State,” a traveling exhibit that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Citrus County Historical Society, Inc. (Citrus)
“Humanatees”: Man and Manatees – $5,000
The Citrus County Historical Society will create an exhibit and speaker series that highlight the history and identity of one of Florida’s most iconic creatures, the manatee.

City of Pompano Beach (Broward)
Pompano Beach Historical Timeline Display – $5,000
The Pompano Beach Historic Preservation Committee will design and fabricate a multimedia exhibit that depicts the 100 year history of the community and its residents.

Easter Seals of Southwest Florida (Manatee)
Coming out of History’s Dark Corners – $5,000
Easter Seals of SW Florida will continue its on-going oral history program that pairs 10th graders from the Out of Door college prep school with students at VIP Academy, a high school program for students with a range of disabilities.

Florida Atlantic University (Palm Beach)
Decolonization Across Disciplines in the Americas Symposium – $1,000
FAU will host a one-day public symposium that brings together scholars from various Florida institutions to discuss decolonization in the Americas with an emphasis on Florida.

Florida Holocaust Museum (Pinellas)
Dr. Susannah Heschel : Genocide and Human Rights Awareness Movement – $5,000
As part of Genocide and Human Rights Awareness Month, the Florida Holocaust Museum will host two, free public lectures by Dr. Susannah Heschel, daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a friend and confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Opa-locka Community Development Corporation (Miami Dade)
Black Miami in Photographs – $5,000
The Opa-locka Community Development Corporation will curate a photography exhibit based on Dr. Marvin Dunn’s book “Black Miami in the 20th Century” which highlights the lives of Black Miamians during the first 100 years of the city’s history.

Open Books Prison Book Project (Escambia)
Prison Book Project – $5,000
Open Books Prison Book Project will expand its circulation of books distributed to Florida’s incarcerated population.

Ormond Beach Historical Society (Volusia)
From Colored to Black: The Stories of North Central Florida – $2,400
The Ormond Beach Historical Society will host “From Colored to Black”, a theatrical presentation based on oral histories of African Americans from North Central Florida as collected by the Samuel Proctor Oral History program at the University of Florida.

Osceola County Historical Society, Inc. (Osceola)
Traduciendo El Pueblo (Translating the Village) – $1,915
The Osceola County Historical Society will design and print a bilingual self-guided walking tour map for its Pioneer Village.

PAL Public Library Cooperative (Alachua)
Celebrating Authors in Putnam County, Florida – $1,675
The Putnam Alachua Levy “PAL” Public Library Cooperative will host a series of public programs that celebrate local authors in Putnam County.

Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources (Pasco)
Lectures on the Lawn – Cultural Event Series – $5,000
The Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources department will host “Lectures on the Lawn”, a series of four community events featuring presenters from FHC’s speakers directory.

Polk County History Center (Polk)
2019 Race and Culture Lecture Series – $5,000
The Polk County History Center will host a six-part speakers series focused on raising racial awareness and promoting cultural diversity in Polk County.

Reflections of Manatee, Inc. (Manatee)
Angola’s Freedom Seekers and Florida’s Underground Railroad – $5,000
Reflections of Manatee will develop a series of public programs and fabricate an exhibit portraying and interpreting the significance of the maroon community of Angola and the role the area played as part of the Underground Railroad.

The Actors’ Warehouse (Alachua)
The American Black Experience: Then and Now – $5,000
The Actors’ Warehouse will host a series of community conversations about race and racism in America following performances of the two plays “The Colored Door at the Train Depot” and “Pipeline”.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe of Florida (Sarasota)
WBTT Voices: Perspectives on James Baldwin and “The Amen Corner” – $3,270
The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe of Florida will host two free public programs to complement its production of James Baldwin’s “The Amen Corner” with a panel of scholarly experts discussing Baldwin’s influence on American literature and society.

Got Humanities? Support your local history
and culture with a Community Project Grant!

Please contact Lindsey Morrison, Grants Coordinator, at [email protected] for more information.