2020 December – Community Project Grant Awards

Florida Humanities is pleased to announce $50,000 in Community Project Grants to 11 Florida organizations in support of vital humanities programming. In addition to this direct support, each organization presented a cash or in-kind match with their project, bringing an additional $187,676 to the table which will further support local communities.

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.

Florida Humanities, the statewide affiliate to the National Endowment for the Humanities, serves to preserve, promote and share the history, literature, culture and personal stories that offer Floridians a better understanding of themselves, their communities and their state.

The newly awarded grants are listed below, alphabetically by sponsoring organization:

Association to Preserve Eatonville Community (Orange)
“Community Conversations: A 3-Part Series on Race and Economic Realities in 21st Century America” – $5,000
Association to Preserve Eatonville will host a 3-part community conversation series to discuss the origins of the black-white wealth gap.

Caribbean American Cultural Group Inc. (Saint Lucie)
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Celebration of Equality” – $5,000
Caribbean American Cultural Group will host renowned speaker Rev. Dr. Ray Hammond, a community rights activist and expert on the civil rights movement in the United States.

Community Healing Project (Volusia)
“The Autobiography Of Malcolm X: A Series on Race Relations in America” – $5,000
Community Healing Project will host public seminars over an 8-week period focused on the impact of documented racism in American culture, coinciding with the 55th anniversary of the “Autobiography of Malcolm X.”

Dunedin History Museum (Pinellas)
“Dunedin’s African American Experience; Permanent digital/Oral History Exhibit and Documentary” – $5,000
Dunedin History Museum will use archival materials and oral histories from members of the African American community to create a virtual exhibit and spark important dialogue and conversation with the public.

Gadsden Arts, Inc. (Gadsden)
“Clyde Butcher: America the Beautiful” – $5,000
Gadsden Arts will bring in the exhibit “Clyde Butcher: America the Beautiful,” presenting the beauty of Florida’s landscape and host virtual programming with humanities scholars.

Lake Wales History Museum/City of Lake Wales (Polk)
“Lake Wales African-American Archive Project” – $5,000
Lake Wales History Museum will archive collected oral histories from the African American community, showcasing these histories in interpretive exhibits, three virtual presentations and a walking tour.

MacDonald Training Center (Hillsborough)
“BUILDING COMMUNITY: Florida Stories to Inspire and Engage Learners with Varying Abilities” – $2,500
MacDonald Training Center will host a virtual speaker series to increase civic and community engagement for people with varying abilities in Tampa Bay.

Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach (Palm Beach)
“Southern Foodways and the Cultures that Shape Southern Food” – $2,500
Mandel Public Library will host scholar presentations and create circulating kits featuring cultural cookbooks, biographies, documentaries, and create a Community Cookbook.

Patricia & Phillip Frost Art (Miami-Dade)
“Documenting History, Acknowledging a Legacy: Miami Black Arts Workshop Community Conversation” – $5,000
Patricia & Philip Frost Art Museum will a film screening and a community conversation in celebrating Miami Black Arts and moderated by Mikaile Solomon, museum curator.

The College of the Florida Keys (Monroe)
“CFK Poetics” – $5,000
The College of the Florida Keys will host “CFK Poetics,” the College’s annual poetry reading series, bringing in world-renowned poets Richard Blanco and Ross Gay.

University of South Florida Department of Anthropology (Hillsborough)
“Monuments, Markers, and Memory 2021 Symposium Series” – $5,000
USF Department of Anthropology will host four programs focused on restorative justice, Confederate monuments, memorialization, heritage, racial injustice, and politics.