By James Cusick – We’ve been having a lot of fun at recent classes held in the libraries. We now have our own version of steampunk technology in the form of a working 1905 stereoviewer that’s operated by nickels! Donated by UF alumnus David Snedeker, the Mills Novelty stereoviewer allows…
By James Cusick The P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History is proud to announce a donation of books and papers on local Black history and religious history from professor, archivist, librarian, and author Sherry Sherrod DuPree. DuPree holds an MA in educational media from North Carolina Central University and an…
By James Cusick, Rachel Laue, and John T. Foster – When did people first begin to regard Florida as a winter sanctuary and a place to relocate and set up a homestead? After decades of giving credit for this trend to the railroad barons of the 1880s, scholars are…
By Bridget Bihm-Manuel – In 1935, Franklin Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to alleviate the unemployment caused by the Great Depression. It was primarily a public works program and the laborers who participated were responsible for the construction of thousands of bridges, buildings, parks, roads, and other structures…
By Lee Hoffman – The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a major experiment in the 1930s that aimed to put people back to work. It established a legacy that can be found speckled across the landscape in national, state and local parks. In 1933, as the hardships of the Great…
By Lee Hoffman – What is the Great Speckled Bird? The Great Speckled Bird was an underground alternative press publication. The South, historically, has been characterized as a monolithic legislative echo-chamber painted in All-American red. It should not be forgotten that southern legislatures have been historically associated with violent rhetoric…
By Bridget Bihm-Manuel, Rachel Laue, and James Cusick – The P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History has started a new collection on LGBTQ+ publications in Florida, focusing on newspapers or periodicals published during the 1970s and 1980s. The collection first came together around an 18-month run of the…
By James Cusick – October 5th marks the birthday of folklorist, activist, writer and Klan-fighter William Stetson Kennedy (1916-2011). He would have been 105 years old today! And although Stetson is no longer here in the flesh, his words and warnings about the dangers we are facing from white supremacy…
