by Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
On March 12, the UF Samuel Proctor Oral History Program will host a public panel entitled “The Florida Civil Rights Struggle: Past & Present” at 6 p.m. in Pugh Hall. The panel will be a vibrant commemoration of memories and legacies related to civil rights organizing in the state of Florida, bringing recognition to activists, highlighting key locations of civil rights organizing throughout the state in towns such as Ocala, St. Augustine, Tallahassee, Miami, and Gainesville. Audience members will receive a CD anthology of African American oral histories of segregation and civil rights with an accompanying educator’s guide.
The panel will feature key Florida movement activists including Dan Harmeling and John Due. Harmeling, a former UF student who was arrested for peacefully protesting segregation in St. Augustine, and civil rights attorney John Due, a participant in the CORE Freedom Rides that challenged segregated interstate transportation, will present on their local civil rights work.
To highlight the organizing traditions of African Americans in Florida, several students will read excerpts drawn from oral history interviews with black elders for the audience. A special announcement will be made at the event about the unveiling of the Alachua County African American Project, which is funded by the UF Office of the Provost.
Reverend Milford Griner will give the invocation. A reception will follow the event. Parking is free, next to Pugh Hall.
This public program is made possible by a grant from the Center for the Humanities in the Public Sphere Rothman Endowment and co-sponsored by the UF Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research, the UF African American Studies Program, the UF Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs, and the UF Institute for Hispanic-Latino Cultures.
For more information about this event, including directions and parking information, visit the Oral History Program’s website, http://oral.history.ufl.edu or call the office at (352) 392-7168.