African American History Collection:
An Audio, Print, and Video Bibliography
Florida Humanities is committed to using the humanities to better understand racism and injustice and how to curb their influence in society. We support programs, whether in print or on video or on the radio which explores the African American experience, particularly in Florida. With the assistance of the USF-St. Petersburg Library, who hosts this collection, Florida Humanities has created the African American History Archive. We present it here for your review and use.
This robust compilation of information will deepen our knowledge of African American history and culture and by doing so, help us all understand the historic roots and current implications of racism, both overt and covert. Only by better understanding each other can a diverse and free nation thrive.
Welcome to the Florida Humanities African American History Archive. Please tell us what you think and how we make it better.
The passage of the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. Despite the constitutional security granted by the amendment, Black women–and Black men–were not able to exercise voting privileges. This did not prevent Black women from engaging in political organizing and registering others to vote. When Black women were finally able to vote with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Black women began to enter national politics in force.
Refusing to be Silenced: The Political History and Future of Black Women in Florida
Central Florida has become an area of rapid growth. From Zora Neale Hurston to Mary McLeod Bethune, Black women made significant contributions from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico. In part two of this series, our scholars will discuss the sites and stories unique to Black women in Central Florida.
Faith and Folklore: Sites and Black Women’s Stories in the 20th Century
The history of Black women sits at an intersection of race and gender which is often ignored. Studies of Black history can help part of this deficit, but women’s stories can still be pushed from the mainstream.
Genesis: Sites and Black Women’s Stories in Old (North) Florida
The term “Black Lives Matter” started as a hashtag in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s 2012 shooting in Sanford, Florida. Since then, it has become a national movement that has garnered praise and controversy.
“Black Lives Matter”: The Current Struggle for Civil Rights and Racial Justice in Florida
Florida experienced the highest number of lynchings per capita out of any state in the country. This violence is often less understood in context with the global perception of Florida as a state with pristine beaches and perfect weather.
“I Am a Man”: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Florida
The era of Reconstruction saw the promise of African American advancement in education, politics, and business. Despite these advancements, Jim Crow segregation also rose.
Reconstruction and the Jim Crow Era
Florida’s status as a “backwater” colony made it an attractive destination for enslaved Africans, enabling them to establish settlements like Fort Mose and other colonies to celebrate freedom.
The Spanish Colonial and Slavery Eras in Florida
Remembering the elders: New Winter Park exhibit preserves images, stories of African-American community
(pp. 8)
(pp. 8)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 43, No. 02, 2019
Vol. 43, No. 02, 2019
A pioneer’s journey from The Bottom: Integrating a university, first lady of FAMU
By Jacki Levine
(pp. 10-12)
By Jacki Levine
(pp. 10-12)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 43, No. 01, 2019
Vol. 43, No. 01, 2019
Digging the roots of Florida Soul
By Bill DeYoung
(pp. 38-41)
By Bill DeYoung
(pp. 38-41)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 42, No. 01, 2018
Vol. 42, No. 01, 2018
Florida's African Soul and Soil
By Maurice J. O’Sullivan
(pp. 30-33)
By Maurice J. O’Sullivan
(pp. 30-33)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 40, No. 02, 2016
Vol. 40, No. 02, 2016
An oasis in Jim Crow Florida
By Lu Vickers
(pp. 24-26)
By Lu Vickers
(pp. 24-26)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 40, No. 01, 2016
Vol. 40, No. 01, 2016
Historic Black Community Now Mostly White
By David Nolan
(pp. 16)
By David Nolan
(pp. 16)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 39, No. 01, 2015
Vol. 39, No. 01, 2015
Celebrating the legacy of Florida’s Highwaymen
By Jon Wilson
(pp. 24-25)
By Jon Wilson
(pp. 24-25)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 38, No. 03, 2014
Vol. 38, No. 03, 2014
Excerpt from: The Highwaymen: Painting along the road to success
By Gary Monroe
(pp. 11)
By Gary Monroe
(pp. 11)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 37, No. 03, 2013
Vol. 37, No. 03, 2013
A Lonely, Dangerous Fight for Justice
By Jon Wilson
(pp. 4-6)
By Jon Wilson
(pp. 4-6)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 37, No. 02, 2013
Vol. 37, No. 02, 2013
Excerpt from: Zora Neale Hurston’s Final Decade
By Virginia Lynn Moylan
(pp. 22-25)
By Virginia Lynn Moylan
(pp. 22-25)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 36, No. 02, 2012
Vol. 36, No. 02, 2012
Rosewood: Rising from the Ashes
By Jon Wilson
(pp. 20-21)
By Jon Wilson
(pp. 20-21)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 35, No. 01, 2011
Vol. 35, No. 01, 2011
Almost nothing survives of the shocking event known as Ax Handle Saturday. Almost no film footage. Hardly any photographs. Just memories. Memories locked away for half-a-century. Until now...
Ax Handle Saturday, 50 Years Later
Copyright 2010 Jacksonville Historical Society
Copyright 2010 Jacksonville Historical Society
Florida's Culture of Slavery
By Larry Eugene Rivers
(pp. 20-24)
By Larry Eugene Rivers
(pp. 20-24)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 34, No. 01, 2010
Vol. 34, No. 01, 2010
Excerpt from: It Was Never About A Hot Dog and A Coke!
By Rodney L. Hurst Sr.
(pp. 12-13)
By Rodney L. Hurst Sr.
(pp. 12-13)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 33, No. 02, 2009
Vol. 33, No. 02, 2009
Realizing Strength in Diversity
By Eduardo Padron
(pp. 34-35)
By Eduardo Padron
(pp. 34-35)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 33, No. 01, 2009
Vol. 33, No. 01, 2009
Harlem Renaissance author Zora Neale Hurston collected music and oral histories in turpentine camps where working conditions were some of the harshest.
Zora Neale Hurston in the Turpentine Camps
2008 FH Radio Program
2008 FH Radio Program
The Town That Nurtured Acclaimed Florida Novelist and Folklorist Zora Neale Hurston
By Valerie Boyd
(pp. 34-36)
By Valerie Boyd
(pp. 34-36)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 32, No. 01, 2008
Vol. 32, No. 01, 2008
Alfred “Beanie” Backus is often credited for inspiring and teaching the landscape artists, The Highwaymen.
Harold Newton: An Original Highwayman
2007 FH Radio Program
2007 FH Radio Program
Quiltmakers talk about their craft at an event held in Zora Neale Hurston's hometown.
Quilters of Eatonville
2007 FH Radio Program
2007 FH Radio Program
A Florida actor/scholar portrays the educator who has been called one of the most powerful African-American women of the 20th century.
Mary McLeod Bethune: Demanding Democracy
2007 FH Radio Program
2007 FH Radio Program
African Americans in Florida struggled to bring democracy to their state during the white backlash to post Civil War reconstruction.
African-Americans Betrayed After Emancipation
2007 FH Radio Program
2007 FH Radio Program
University of South Florida St. Petersburg history professor Dr. Raymond Arsenault talks about his book, "Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice."
Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice
2007 FH Radio Program
2007 FH Radio Program
A 2006 panel of southern journalists discussed media coverage of the civil rights movement.
Southern Journalists During the Civil Rights Movement
2006 FH Radio Program
2006 FH Radio Program
Five months after the much-publicized Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, Florida had its own movement in Tallahassee.
C.K. Steele and the Tallahassee Bus Boycott
2006 FH Radio Program
2006 FH Radio Program
The story of African-American Virgil Hawkins and his fight to be admitted to the University of Florida Law school and then to practice law in the state.
Virgil Hawkins's Fight to Study and Practice Law in Florida
2006 FH Radio Program
2006 FH Radio Program
Reporter Sally Watt visits the Fort Pierce house where Zora Neale Hurston, the author of the 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, spent her final years.
The Fort Pierce Home of Zora Neale Hurston
2006 FH Radio Program
2006 FH Radio Program
A popular site in downtown Tallahassee houses artifacts telling the story of the African American experience in Florida.
The Black Archives Museum
2006 FH Radio Program
2006 FH Radio Program
Crackers were odd, but good, neighbors
By Bill Maxwell
(pp. 38-39)
By Bill Maxwell
(pp. 38-39)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 30, No. 01, 2006
Vol. 30, No. 01, 2006
Authors detail the story of African-American ballplayer Jackie Robinson's difficult first spring training experience in Florida.
Jackie Robinson in Florida
2005 FH Radio Program
2005 FH Radio Program
Ben Green, author, talks about the life and death of a pioneering civil rights activist whose story is still not widely known.
Florida Civil Rights Leader Harry T. Moore
2005 FH Radio Program
2005 FH Radio Program
Giving Slaves A Voice: After 70 Years Their Memories of Plantation Lives are Preserved
By Gary R. Mormino
(pp. 12-15)
By Gary R. Mormino
(pp. 12-15)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 29, No. 03, 2005
Vol. 29, No. 03, 2005
Spanish Colony a Sanctuary for Slaves Seeking Freedom
By Kathleen Deagan
(pp. 20-22)
By Kathleen Deagan
(pp. 20-22)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 29, No. 02, 2005
Vol. 29, No. 02, 2005
This issue of FORUM magazine featured Florida's "unforgettable: characters including "beach lady"MaVynee Betsch and Harry T. Moore.
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 28, No. 03, 2004
Vol. 28, No. 03, 2004
This issue of FORUM magazine examines the ramifications of the Brown decision in Florida .
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 28, No. 02, 2004
Vol. 28, No. 02, 2004
The story of Jacksonville's civil rights struggles of the 1950's and 1960's.
The Civil Rights Movement in Jacksonville
2004 FH Radio Program
2004 FH Radio Program
Dr. Raymond Arsenault and former Freedom Riders discussed Florida's part in the civil rights movement.
Florida Freedom Riders
2004 FH Radio Program
2004 FH Radio Program
Hear the stories from the people who suffered through the 1964 civil rights struggles in St. Augustine.
St. Augustine 1964: Voices from the Civil Rights Movement
2004 FH Radio Program
2004 FH Radio Program
An interview with Dr. Marvin Dunn about his book, "Black Miami In the 20th Century" about the civil rights movement in Miami.
South of the South: Civil Rights in Miami
2004 FH Radio Program
2004 FH Radio Program
John Hope Franklin, the author of the 1947 book, "From Slavery to Freedom," and his part in the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education.
John Hope Franklin and the Brown Decision of 1954
2004 FH Radio Program
2004 FH Radio Program
Bill Maxwell and Beverly Coyle were among the last generation of black and white Floridians to graduate from segregated schools, to sit in separate sections of the bus, and to drink from different water fountains. Bill and Beverly came of age just as the curtain was about to fall on Jim Crow race laws and customs.
Parallel Lives: A conversation with Beverly Coyle and Bill Maxwell
Originally recorded 2003.
Originally recorded 2003.
Actor/scholars portray three of the major authors of the Harlem Renaissance -- two of whom grew up in Florida.
Florida and the Harlem Renaissance
2003 FH Radio Program
2003 FH Radio Program
The Highwaymen
By Gary Monroe
(pp. 22-25)
By Gary Monroe
(pp. 22-25)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 27, No. 02, 2003
Vol. 27, No. 02, 2003
Linking Separate, But Unequal, Worlds (pp. 17)
Community of Eatonville (pp. 16-17)
Community of Eatonville (pp. 16-17)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 27, No. 01, 2003
Vol. 27, No. 01, 2003
Illicit slave trading on the seas continued long after the United States declared it illegal in 1820. New findings suggest Florida may have played a role in finally ending the practice.
The Last Slave Ships
2003 FH Radio Program
2003 FH Radio Program
Stories about those who lived through St. Augustine's racial troubles of 1964.
Racial Unrest in 1964 St. Augustine
2002 FH Radio Program
2002 FH Radio Program
Another side of Florida's most famous African-American author, Zora Neale Hurston, is revealed by Irma McClaurin, a Zora Neale Hurston scholar.
Zora Neale Hurston: Anthropologist
2002 FH Radio Program
2002 FH Radio Program
An interview with three authors about the book, "The Changing South of Gene Patterson" that includes excerpts of Patterson reading his Atlanta Constitution column, "A Flower for the Graves," about the Sept '63 Birmingham church bombing.
The Changing South of Gene Patterson
2002 FH Radio Program
2002 FH Radio Program
Dr. Jane Landers, a historian at Vanderbilt University, describes her research about the African experience during Spanish colonial times in Florida.
Early Florida African-American History
2002 FH Radio Program
2002 FH Radio Program
Colonial period Fort Mose in St. Augustine was the site of the first legally sanctioned free African American settlement.
Fort Mose: Colonial Period Free African American Settlement
2002 FH Radio Program
2002 FH Radio Program
The key role played by Floridians in the outpouring of art and culture that today is called the Harlem Renaissance.
Questions from the Harlem Renaissance
2001 FH Radio Program
2001 FH Radio Program
Keith Woods, NPR, talks about the power of words and the deceptive language of race in the media around us.
Journalism and the Language of Race
2001 FH Radio Program
2001 FH Radio Program
The history of the Highwaymen, a group of more than 25 African-American Florida landscape artists.
History of the Highwaymen Painters
2001 FH Radio Program
2001 FH Radio Program
Bill Maxwell, an African-American columnist for the St. Petersburg Times, talks about his column and the topics he writes about.
Newspaper Columnist Bill Maxwell
2001 FH Radio Program
2001 FH Radio Program
Ten miles from the site of the Dade Massacre marking the beginning of the Second Seminole War archaeologists excavate a village where runaway slaves lived side-by-side with the Seminoles.
Uncovering a Black Seminole Village
2001 FH Radio Program
2001 FH Radio Program
Historian, John Hope Franklin, shares his perspective on our country's racial progress toward removing the hidden constraints in American society.
Historian John Hope Franklin
2001 FH Radio Program
2001 FH Radio Program
Robert Saunders, a pioneer in Florida's state's civil rights struggles.
Robert Saunders and the NAACP in Florida
2001 FH Radio Program
2001 FH Radio Program
Runaway Slaves Establish First Fortress for Freedom
By Kathleen Deagan
(pp. 28-31)
By Kathleen Deagan
(pp. 28-31)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 24, No. 03, 2001
Vol. 24, No. 03, 2001
Sands of Segregation: What Happens Now to Famed American Beach
By Al Burt
(pp. 18-20)
By Al Burt
(pp. 18-20)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 23, No. 01, 2000
Vol. 23, No. 01, 2000
Residents from a small Florida town remember the attack on African Americans during the November 1920 voting-day Ocoee Riot or Ocoee Massacre.
Ocoee: A Reconciliation
2000 FH Radio Program
2000 FH Radio Program
Two actor/scholars converse in character as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Zora Neale Hurston using words found in recently unearthed letters.
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Zora Neale Hurston
1999 FH Radio Program
1999 FH Radio Program
A historian and an actor who portrays the role of famous African-American writer and activist, James Weldon Johnson, discuss Johnson's role in Florida and national history.
James Weldon Johnson
1999 FH Radio Program
1999 FH Radio Program
Author Ben Green talks about the life and death of Harry T. Moore, a pioneering civil rights activist.
Remembering the 1951 Murder of Harry T. Moore
1999 FH Radio Program
1999 FH Radio Program
Fighting on Two Fronts
(pp. 39)
(pp. 39)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 22, No. 03, 1999
Vol. 22, No. 03, 1999
This issue of FORUM magazine features stories of growing up in the segregated South of the late 1950s.
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 22, No. 02, 1999
Vol. 22, No. 02, 1999
African-American World War II veteran airmen remember the struggles to be accepted as part of the U.S. fighting force.
Florida's Tuskegee Airmen
1999 FH Radio Program
1999 FH Radio Program
Actors and musicians get together to produce a theater piece celebrating the flowering of creative energy that was the Harlem Renaissance.
Remembering the Harlem Renaissance
1998 FH Radio Program
1998 FH Radio Program
African American churches around Florida provide an insight into a rich and varied architectural history.
African-American Church Architecture in Florida
1998 FH Radio Program
1998 FH Radio Program
An actor/scholar recreates Florida's most famous African American writer.
Re-enacting Zora Neale Hurston
1998 FH Radio Program
1998 FH Radio Program
Jackie Robinson in Florida
By Arnold Rampersad
(pp. 44-48)
By Arnold Rampersad
(pp. 44-48)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 21, No. 02, 1998
Vol. 21, No. 02, 1998
The story of a little-known movement in Florida's history and the charismatic leader who spearheaded it.
Florida's Back to Africa Movement
1998 FH Radio Program
1998 FH Radio Program
Historian, John Hope Franklin, the author of the 1947 book "From Slavery to Freedom", offered his perspective on the declaration and other issues.
John Hope Franklin & the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
1998 FH Radio Program
1998 FH Radio Program
Dr. Marvin Dunn, historian, details the injustices and struggles of Miami's African American community.
Black Miami in the 20th Century
1998 FH Radio Program
1998 FH Radio Program
Bartow: The West Side
(pp. 12-15)
(pp. 12-15)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 21, No. 01, 1998
Vol. 21, No. 01, 1998
Biographers of Florida novelist Zora Neale Hurston reveals some newly-discovered works by the author.
The Undiscovered Zora Neale Hurston
1997 FH Radio Program
1997 FH Radio Program
A 40 year-old manuscript uncovers the story of the runaway slaves who formed a relationship with Florida's Seminole Indians.
The Black Seminoles
1997 FH Radio Program
1997 FH Radio Program
Rosewood, a long-forgotten racial incident in Florida history brings together scholars and community leaders to discuss what lessons can be learned from a knowledge of the past.
Rosewood Revisited
1997 FH Radio Program
1997 FH Radio Program
One of a group of African American artists who work has become wildly popular tells his story.
The Highwaymen
1996 FH Radio Program
1996 FH Radio Program
An interview with an African-American baseball player who could have been the first to integrate the game.
Negro League Baseball in Florida
1996 FH Radio Program
1996 FH Radio Program
Mary McLeod Bethune
(pp. 25)
(pp. 25)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 18, No. 03, 1996
Vol. 18, No. 03, 1996
Charles Pace, actor/scholar, revisits the life of African American intellectual and activist W.E.B. DuBois, the author of book, "The Souls of Black Folk."
Actor Charles Pace as W.E.B. DuBois
1996 FH Radio Program
1996 FH Radio Program
African-American civil rights leader and educator and founder of Bethune-Cookman College (later named Bethune-Cookman University) in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Mary McLeod Bethune
1996 FH Radio Program
1996 FH Radio Program
Civil Rights 1954-1965: The Disguise of Discrimination
By William R. Jones
(pp. 23-27)
By William R. Jones
(pp. 23-27)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 18, No. 02, 1995
Vol. 18, No. 02, 1995
A conversation with three historians who have written or edited books on Florida African-American history.
Florida African American History
1995 FH Radio Program
1995 FH Radio Program
Autobiographical narratives of slaves are rediscovered by a Florida scholar.
Slave Narratives
1995 FH Radio Program
1995 FH Radio Program
Historians discuss the struggles of African Americans during a turbulent period in Florida's history: the troubled years following the Civil War.
African Americans in Reconstruction Florida
1995 FH Radio Program
1995 FH Radio Program
In 1994 historian James Horton talked about race and education since the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling on segregation.
40 Years After the Supreme Court's Brown Decision
1994 FH Radio Program
1994 FH Radio Program
A look at the growing African American storytelling movement -- its origins and its importance in today's society.
African American Storytellers
1994 FH Radio Program
1994 FH Radio Program
A crusading pastor plays a key role in a landmark action for civil rights in Florida.
The Tallahassee Bus Boycott
1994 FH Radio Program
1994 FH Radio Program
This issue of FORUM magazine examines the Civil Rights era in Florida from 1954 through 1965.
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 18, No. 01, 1994
Vol. 18, No. 01, 1994
Lift Every Voice and Sing: The Life of James Weldon Johnson, educator, writer, civil rights leader
By Louis H. Pratt
(pp. 6-11)
By Louis H. Pratt
(pp. 6-11)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 15, No. 02, 1991
Vol. 15, No. 02, 1991
Traversing the Road to Race and History
by John Hope Franklin
(pp. 3-4, 15-17)
by John Hope Franklin
(pp. 3-4, 15-17)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 14, No. 01, 1991
Vol. 14, No. 01, 1991
Zora Lives
By Jack B. Moore
(pp. 12-13)
By Jack B. Moore
(pp. 12-13)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 13, No 1-2, 1990
Vol. 13, No 1-2, 1990
Blacks in Spanish Florida
By Jane Landers
(pp. 9-12)
By Jane Landers
(pp. 9-12)
FORUM Magazine
Vol. 12, No. 1, 1989
Vol. 12, No. 1, 1989
Experience the Humanities
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