Category Archives: Articles

Transcript edited by Pierce Butler

This is the fifteenth in a continuing series of transcript excerpts from the collection of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida.

Dr. Sue M. Legg was interviewed by Stuart Landers [L] in 1992; bracketed interpolations are by SPOHP.

L: When and where were you born?

In Oakland, California, in January 1940. There was a big dock in Richmond. It used to be a whaling station. Then in the Second World War the Kaiser Aluminum Company built the Minute Men ships there. Those ships brought in enormous numbers of semiskilled and unskilled labor, both black and white. Richmond went from essentially a Standard Oil company town with relatively small population (I think under 20,000) to a town of around 100,000 in about three years.

After the war those people did not leave, and they hit the school system about the same time I hit the school system. For that reason, Richmond was integrated – not residentially, but through the schools – right after the war.

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By Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

Can things be the same in the Gainesville area? Homelessness among the LGBTQ youth population is disproportionate compared to its heterosexual counterparts.

Statistics in urban areas of the United States report that about 10 percent of the youth population identifies as LGBTQ; however, up to 40 percent of the homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. Why is there such a disparity?

Many families will not accept an LGBTQ youth, and the youths find themselves kicked out of the family home. Studies also report that LGBTQ youth are more likely to experience sexual, physical, and emotional abuse.

Many LGBTQ youth consider themselves “throw-a-ways.” They face humiliation and discrimination from the places that most youth find the most support: families and schools. Agencies that provide services to homeless youth in Gainesville report that they serve approximately 700 youths between the ages of 13 to 18 per year.

What can be done to help this population?

Well, this is a question that PFLAG Gainesville (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) will be discussing at the first Summer Summit.

PFLAG Gainesville began its chapter in January 2012. The Board of Directors saw a need in the LGBTQ youth populatiop in the Gainesville area and began planning the Summer Summit. It will be held Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Straughn IFAS Extension Professional Development Center in Gainesville.

The event is free to interested parties and registration can be completed through the website www.pflaggainesville.org.

by Pierce Butler

Starke, Fla., Bradford County seat, now has another claim to fame beyond its notoriety as a speed trap.

Starke hosts the nation’s first atheist monument on government property, a combined pillar and bench at the Bradford County courthouse installed on June 29 by American Atheists, Inc. (AA). Between 200 and 300 people attended the dedication ceremony, along with Confederate-flag-bearing protestors and a noisy “Honk for Jesus” crew across the street.

In the spring of 2012, a local Community Men’s Fellowship spent an estimated $20,000 to place a 3-ton marble slab bearing an abridged Ten Commandments in the courthouse entrance area, promptly triggering a lawsuit from Starke resident Daniel Cooney and AA. The plaintiffs charged that parking the large display of a religious message in that location violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, favoring one group of believers while alienating all others, and asked that the monument be removed.

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by Joe Courter

As the summer of 2013 unfolds, I’m reminded of the Phil Ochs song, “Cops of the World,” which is a pointed criticism of U.S. foreign policy circa 1965.*

Well, the weapons, tactics and geographic locations have changed, but still this nation’s large, self-righteous footprint is all over the world. Another difference, though, is that the rest of the world is noticing, and through information-sharing, beginning to collectively object and in numerous cases resist.

We saw a preview of this on February 15, 2003, when up to 30 million people in over 100 nations around the world demonstrated against the imminent U.S. invasion and war in Iraq. At that time, I remember comments being made that if the U.S. was now that globe’s sole superpower, then the counter-balance must be everybody else.

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by Citizens Co-Op

In celebration of our 2nd year anniversary, we’re asking our member-owners to take the co-op challenge.

What is the challenge? A pledge to “SHOP CO-OP” for 30 days.

Since we opened our doors two years ago, we’ve discovered a lot about being a little grocery store. The store itself is maturing, our membership is still growing, but even with all the enthusiasm around the co-op, the summer months still prove the hardest.

As owners of this business, your allegiance determines our success. For the co-op to work and sustain itself, we need our members to do their regular shopping with us.

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by Mama Trish

LABOR DAZE FEST was started in 2011 to celebrate the people who make this city go. (We thought it appropriate, y’know, being Labor Day weekend and all.) We wanted it to be fun, so we had five bands, free massage, a free rock wall, and free activities for the kids. We also wanted it to make a difference, so we’ve gathered together our community’s best responsible businesses, non-profits, community groups, and activists. Last year’s turnout was encouraging, to say the least. (We had the 2nd biggest Labor Day Weekend celebration in the state!)

You should come. There will be fun stuff for kids and grownups alike. By locals, for locals, about locals!

For more info, check out LABOR DAZE FEST 2013 on facebook. Holler if you want to help out.