2021 June – Community Project Grant Awards

Photo credit, above: Pioneer Florida Museum & Village in Dade City, Florida received a $5,000 Community Project Grant to support, “Florida’s Seminole Wars: A Living History Event”

Florida Humanities is pleased to announce $48,600 in Community Project Grants to 11 cultural organizations in support of public humanities programming. In addition to this direct support, each organization presented a cash or in-kind match with their project, bringing an additional $298,871 in economic support to local communities.

Community Project Grants provide up to $5,000 in funding to nonprofits and public institutions across Florida to develop humanities-rich public programs and 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:

Miami Center for Racial Justice (Miami-Dade)
“#ItStartsWithMeMiami: The Power of Historical Dialogue to elevate community/police relations” – $5,000
The Miami Center for Racial Justice will bring humanities scholars together with community members, leaders and law enforcement officials to discuss better community relations and practices using a historic lens to understand the struggles facing African American communities.

Ayiti Community Trust (Miami-Dade)
“Ayiti Connect” – $5,000
Ayiti Community Trust will host a series of virtual events to educate young Haitian Americans on Haiti’s history and culture in order to record stories that connect youth to heritage and foster pride in their cultural roots.

Bethune Cookman University (Volusia)
“Community Engagement with the Bethune Cookman University Oral History Collection (BCU OHC)” – $4,000
Bethune Cookman University will create videos, podcasts and blogs based on themes of racial injustice and democracy, specifically funding the publishing of oral histories in partnership with the Daytona Beach Museum of Arts.

Historical Society of Central Florida (Orange)
“Giants, Dragons & Unicorns: The World of Mythic Creatures” – $5,000
Historical Society of Central Florida will host complementary public humanities programming for “Giants, Dragons & Unicorns: The World of Mythic Creatures,” on tour at the Orange County Regional History Center.

Museum of Contemporary Art, Inc. (Miami-Dade)
“”My Name is Maryan” Film and Discussion Series” – $5,000
Museum of Contemporary Art will host three film screenings paired with panel discussions led by Florida International University humanities scholars in conjunction with the Maryan exhibition.

Pioneer Florida Museum Association (Pasco)
“Florida’s Seminole Wars: A Living History Event” – $5,000
The Pioneer Florida Museum will host the “Florida’s Seminole Wars: A Living History Event” and refurbish a small exhibit showcasing period artifacts.

Serena Schreiber Stories – Florida Atlantic University (Palm Beach)
“When You Move, I Move–Community Engagement on Climate Gentrification” – $1,600
Florida Atlantic University and Serena Schreiber Stories will host a community conversation and poetry performance in Little Haiti Miami.

The Florida Holocaust Museum (Pinellas)
“My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past” – $5,000
The Florida Holocaust Museum will bring in author Jennifer Teege to present, “My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past.”

The Franciscan Center (Hillsborough)
“50 Years of Tampa’s Franciscan Center: The Sisters’ Legacy Serving Florida’s Poor and Underserved” – $5,000
The Franciscan Center will orchestrate, “50 Years of Tampa’s Franciscan Center,” which will include a three-day public lecture series and panel discussion about the Center’s history and connection to Tampa communities.

Volusia County Public Library (Volusia)
“Anti-Racism Community Conversation Kits” – $3,000
Volusia County Public Library will create six anti-racism adult conversation kits, 36 youth/family conversation kits, and supporting digital programming with partners at Bethune-Cookman University and the Daytona Beach Public Housing Authority.

Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc. (Broward)
“YI Love Yiddishfest” – $5,000
Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc. will host special lectures that highlight Jewish history within a larger, week-long festival, “YI Love Yiddishfest”