Archived Edition

Delve Into the Florida Humanities’ FORUM Collection at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg Digital Archive.

University of South Florida St. Petersburg

FORUM, Vol. XLVI, No. 1 Spring 2022, A Joyful Noise

Cover Story:
‘I’m Florida, Need I say More?’
In it’s 70th year of existence, a White Springs Festival celebrates the elusive, eclectic music that is Florida Folk. An attendee at the Florida Folk Festival may well be confused, not just by the Cracker accent prevalent along these parts of the Suwannee River, but also by the diverse sights and sounds of the nation’s longest continuous state folk festival. By Peter B. Gallagher

  • Letter from the Editor
  • The Activist. A Marine Corps veteran who earned two Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War, Scott Camil returned to Florida after two tours of duty and became a leading activist in Veterans Against the Vietnam War. By Scott Camil
  • The Hitmaker. For 63 years, Miami’s Criteria Studios has recorded some of the country’s most popular albums and artists. What started as a one-room building is now a sprawling 26,000-square-foot complex that includes seven recording studios. By Janet Scherberger.
  • Traveling Down the Chitlin’ Circuit. Ocala blues musician Rev. Billy C. Wirtz explores the Florida clubs and artists that defined Black music during the days of Jim Crow. By Rev. Billy C. Wirtz
  • Lift Every Voice and Sing. On a warm and wet September evening last year, the first football game of 2021 was about to start. The two teams lined up on the field. Before the National Anthem, they listened to a different song, one that some call the Black National Anthem. The place where the anthem means the most, though, is Jacksonville, the Florida town where it was written and first performed more than a century ago. By Craig Pittman
  • State of Rock. Since 1969, four iconic bands have ruled American classic rock, their songs on a perpetual loop via FM and satellite radio. Each band includes two guitarists with deep Florida roots, supplying the gold and platinum riffs. Those eight artists make a compelling case for Florida as an incubator of great American classic rock guitarists. By Bob Kealing
  • In the Shadow of Old Joe. The mayor of Newberry on his town’s work to acknowledge — and heal from—its tragic racial past. By Jordan Marlowe.