Florida Humanities awards over $45,000 in Grants for Cultural Programming

The Florida Humanities Council is pleased to award $46,250 in Community Project Grants to ten 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.

Arts Conservatory for Teens (Pinellas)
Dream For America: Florida’s Evolution of Social Justice – $5,000
Arts Conservancy for Teens will produce “Dream for America: Florida’s Evolution of Social Justice,” an interactive, multi-media workshop that examines the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy, featuring oral histories from St. Petersburg residents who participated in the movement as well as scholars who currently study the movement.

Compass, Inc. (Palm Beach)
Compass Legacy Project – $4,250
Compass, Inc. will orchestrate “The Legacy Project,” a cross-generational storytelling project which pairs youth with elders in the local LGBT+ community to learn from each other’s experiences, culminating in a public-facing stage performance.

Florida Historic Capitol Foundation Corporation (Leon)
The Moon, Stars, and Sunshine State Exhibit Programming – $3,000
The Florida Historic Capitol Museum will honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing by hosting a special mock trial with the community to discuss Space Law, complementing the Foundation’s exhibit “The Moon, Stars, and Sunshine State.”

Goldsboro Westside Community Historical Museum (Seminole)
Mrs. Allie Berry’s Quilt Code – $5,000
The Goldsboro Westside Community Historical Museum in collaboration with The Museum of Seminole County History, will create a unique exhibition with panel discussion on “Mrs. Allie Berry’s Quilt Code,” telling the story of enslaved Africans who were prohibited from drumming, speaking in their native tongues, or learning to read and write in English, and instead communicated through quilts and songs.

Historic Markers, Incorporated (Monroe)
Key West Historic Site Walking & Biking Map – $4,000
Historic Markers Inc. will be updating their Key West Historic Site Walking & Biking Map, to feature African American and Cuban history through a special featured tour on these topics, as well as promote the Florida Humanities Council’s Florida Stories App.

John G. Riley Center & Museum (Leon)
Uncrowned Queens: Our Matriarchs of Courage – $5,000
The John G. Riley Center & Museum will produce the exhibit, “Uncrowned Queens: Our Matriarchs of Courage,” which acknowledges the unique challenges many African-American women faced in America over the past century, from slavery through the Civil Rights Era by “crowning” thirty Leon County African American women who, in the late 19th – early 21st century, persevered and left their mark on society.

Manatee Observation and Education Center (Saint Lucie)
A Cultured Planet: How Humans Affected Ecosystems and How Humans Can Help Them Now – $5,000
The Manatee Observation and Education Center will create an exhibit hall and speakers series that integrates human history and culture with environmental education in Saint Lucie County.

 Museum of Science and History of Jacksonville, Inc. (Duval)
Legacy of Lynching: Confronting Racial Terror in America – $5,000
The Museum of Science and History of Jacksonville, Inc. will develop “Legacy of Lynching,” a new exhibit designed to provide layers of historical context to the racial terror lynchings that violated Duval County between 1909 and 1925.

The Frank, The City of Pembroke Pines (Broward)
Pembroke Pines Timeline and Exhibit – $5,000
The City of Pembroke Pines will create a permanent City Historic Timeline exhibit, which the City of Pembroke Pines will use to communicate its history to the community from pre-incorporation to today.

Writers Alliance of Gainesville, Inc. (Alachua)
Sunshine State Book Festival – $5,000
The Writers Alliance of Gainesville, Inc. will partner with the Florida Humanities Council to host the Sunshine State Book Festival, which will bring in around 70 authors to the Sante Fe College Fine Arts Hall on January 25, 2020 to celebrate Florida authors and stories.