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The Florida LGBTQ+ Collection – UPDATED

  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…

Florida and the Early Years of African American Film

By James Cusick – In the 1920s, the small movie production company of Norman Studios, in Jacksonville, Florida, became a vehicle for starting the careers of numerous African-American actors and actresses.  Prominent among them was John Lawrence Criner (1898-1965), a member of the famed New York acting group…

An Artist’s Adventures in Florida

By Rachel Laue – William E.B. Hayman was born in 1837 in Devon, England. It is unclear when Hayman emigrated to the United States, but by 1880 he resided in Newport, Rhode Island, with his wife Rebecca, and his three children, Willie, Clara, and Emma. He owned a business in…

Some Advice from Stetson Kennedy, Still the Nation’s Foremost Klan-Buster

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…

1821 – Florida Becomes Part of the United States

  This year marks the 200th anniversary of Florida’s entry into the United States.  As a result of the Adams-Onís (or Transcontinental) Treaty, the two Spanish colonies of East and West Florida were transferred from Spain to the United States and became a single American territory, initially with twin…

Florida in 1821 – A Small but Diverse Population – by James Cusick

  The new territory of Florida entered the American Union with a population that still represented the core of its colonial population under Spain.  Although American settlers would quickly migrate to Florida in search of land – the population rose from 8,000 people to 34,730 in just 10 years –…

The Redoubtable Mary Boyd

By Rachel Laue, Graduate Research Assistant,  2021 The stories we hear of pioneer lives conjure a certain set of images. Often they are of hardy men breaking new ground, planting new groves, and going off to war. The contributions of women in these stories are typically depicted as domestic,…