When: Thursday, February 7, 6pm
Where: Matheson History Museum
Admission: Free, pre-registration required.
We are honored to welcome author and historian Lizzie P.R.B. Jenkins on Thursday, Feb. 7, to share about the storied history of African Americans in Alachua County.
Alachua County’s African American ancestry contributed significantly to the area’s history. Once enslaved pioneers Richard and Juliann Sams settled in Archer as early as 1839. They were former slaves of James M. Parchman, who journeyed through the wilderness from Parchman, Mississippi. They and others shaped the county’s history through inventions, education, and a work ethic based on spirituality.
Jenkin’s book, Alachua County, Florida (Black America Series), shows people working together from the early 1800s rural farm life, when racial violence was routine, until African Americans broke the chains of injustice and started organizing and controlling civic affairs.
Jenkins is the Emeritus Founder and President of The Real Rosewood Foundation, Inc. She grew up on a farm in Archer, attended Archer Negro High School and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1957. She earned a BS Degree from Florida Memorial University in St. Augustine and a MS degree from Nova University in Ft. Lauderdale. She taught in the Alachua County school system for thirty-three years.
After retirement she chose to study her family history and the history of Rosewood, a town where a tragedy completely altered its future, including that of her aunt, Mahulda Gussie Brown Carrier, a Rosewood school teacher. She has authored books on local history and written two songs telling the story of Rosewood. Jenkins was also featured in the Ted Koppel documentary The Last Lynching (2008).
She has received many awards for her work, including Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Hall of Fame, Lincoln High School Hall of Fame, and NAACP Pioneer. Jenkins is a member of Archer’s St. Joseph Missionary Baptist Church and married to John M. Jenkins, Sr. They have six children.
A book signing will follow her presentation.
Due to the overwhelming response for this program, all attendees must pre-register via Eventbrite.com (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-african-american-history-of-alachua-county-tickets-54427499115).