Some 60 to 70 black residents of Ocoee were murdered during the massacre in the Central Florida town. The reparation funding levels were modeled, in part, on a 1994 decision by the Legislature to compensate African-American families up to $150,000 for damages in the Rosewood Massacre of 1923.
florida history
Nat Reed, Adviser to Governors and Presidents Who Left His Imprint on Flagler’s Environment, Dies
Nat Reed, who died at 84, co-founded 1,000 Friends of Florida. His stewardship led to Flagler’s progressive comprehensive plan and greenway and environmental successes.
Jane Anne Staly, Civil Rights Champion in Central and Northeast Florida, Dies at 95
Jane Anne McNerney Staly, 95, of Maitland, the mother of Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and an influential civil rights and social services activist for over half a century in Central and Northeast Florida, died peacefully on January 19 in Maitland.
Knowing When To Shut Up: What Florida Gov. LeRoy Collins Could Teach Politicians
Had LeRoy Collins spoken of some things in public as he did privately, he’d be remembered not as Florida’s greatest governor but as a failure who was voted out after serving only the last two years of a deceased predecessor’s term.
Leander Shaw, Florida’s First Black Chief Justice, Is Dead at 85
Bob Graham appointed Shaw to the Supreme Court in 1983. He was a staunch opponent of the electric chair and authored a 1989 decision striking down minors’ permission from parents before getting an abortion.
Long Creek Preserve: For Palm Coast, a Chance to Restore a Vast, Lucrative History
Beyond the Long Creek Nature Preserve, Palm Coast has an opportunity to revive the state and national importance the area of the preserve played in the plantation system of the 18th and 19th centuries, says County Attorney Al Hadeed.
Florida Senate Will Consider Removing Confederate Flag From Its Seal
It is the latest reflection of the persisting backlash against the presence of the Confederate flag in public spaces. Senate President Andy Gardiner and Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner pushed for the reconsideration. A committee will do so next week.
Confederate General Is Out, Henry Flagler May Be In as Florida Lawmaker Seeks Capitol Statue Switch
The bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith has stood in the U.S. Capitol since 1922. It would be replaced by the likes of Henry Flagler or Walt Disney under a bill filed Tuesday by Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a Republican.
Bill Would Ban All Confederate Flags on Public Grounds as Question of “Security” Is Raised Over Ag Museum Civil War Reenactment
Bill McGuire, a tourist council and Palm Coast City Council member, is concerned about the Confederate flag display at an upcoming Civil War reenactment at the Agricultural Museum. He spoke as a bill was introduced in Tallahassee to ban all such displays on public grounds.
In Walton, One Confederate Flag Replaces Another as “Compromise” Is Termed a Cop-Out
The Panhandle’s Walton County Commission today voted 4-0 to replace the Confederate battle flag with the first flag of the Confederacy, the Stars and Bars, on government grounds, eliciting applause from some and ridicule from others.
Donald Trump Isn’t the Exception.
He’s the Republican Prototype.
Donald Trump isn’t an exception or an offense to the GOP brand. He’s he’s almost indistinguishable from the other 14 Republican crackpots running for president, starting with Jeb Bush, the alleged “moderate” of the bunch. Bush’s Florida record proves it.
Last Patrol: Undersheriff Rick Staly Looks Back On 40 Years as a “Cop’s Cop,” and Forward
Undersheriff Rick Staly, who retires this week, took his last road patrol last Friday, an unusually quiet evening he spent driving and reflecting on his career and how law enforcement has changed since his first days as a cop in 1974.
Will Florida Senate Recognize That Every Child Has the Right To Be Loved?
The choice is not whether church-sponsored agencies have a right to practice their religion. Of course they do. The issue is whether they have a right to enforce their beliefs against others when acting as agents of the state. They do not.
Flagler Beach’s Dishonorable Ploy: Don’t Remove Gamble Rogers’ Name From Rec Area
Flagler Beach is terribly misguided and short-sighted in its attempt to remove Gamble Rogers from the state recreation area’s name, a reflection of the tourism industry’s faddish obsession with “branding” at the expense of fostering more substantive cultural attractions.
Former Gov. Reubin Askew, Towering Force Behind Modern Florida, Is Dead at 85
Reubin Askew, who died on March 13, led efforts to institute a corporate income tax, while reducing consumer taxes. He also spearheaded approval of what became known as the “Sunshine Amendment,” which opened government records and required public officials to disclose information about their financial affairs.
Angel’s Diner in Palatka: Radiant Relay
Angel’s Diner in Palatka is reported to be the oldest diner in Florida, across the street from the stately Larimer Arts Center and a toast’s throw from the St. Johns River. It’s also proving to be the ideal relay on the way to a nuking.
Proposed Monument Honoring Union Soldiers at Florida’s Olustee Battlefield Sparks Outrage
The bid to add a Union monument to the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park near Lake City, site of the Civil War’s largest battle in Florida, turned a public hearing into a three-hour bout of recriminations that re-enacted some of the Civil War’s deepest passions.
Bill Filed to Give Henry Flagler His Own Bronze Statue near State Capitol in Tallahassee
State Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, wants a bronze sculpture of Henry Morrison Flagler, who was integral in the development of Miami and Palm Beach–and gave Flagler County its name–to go up in the courtyard between the state Capitol and the Historic Capitol in Tallahassee.
When Southern Heritage Is a Lost Cause
As surely as their chosen symbols profess a sentimental attachment to an era of racist brutality, Confederate nostalgists insist that what they really pine for is the Old South of country roads, shady front porches and long, lazy afternoons at the fishing hole. Steve Robinson doesn’t buy it.
Should Jacksonville’s Nathan Bedford Forrest High Be Named for KKK’s Grand Wizard?
Never apologize for what? Secession? Slavery? How about white supremacy and the KKK? The fight to rename Jacksonville’s Nathan Bedford Forrest High School raises the question, argues Julie Delegal.
From Zimmerman Trial to Civil Disobedience: Five Questions for Sen. Arthenia Joyner
The first time Sen. Arthenia Joyner demonstrated for civil rights, in 1960, she was in the 11th grade at Tampa’s Middleton High School. She went on to study law to follow in the footsteps of Thurgood Marshall, and will be the first black woman to serve as Senate Democratic leader in Florida. She is expected to start that role in November 2014.
Bill McBride, Centrist Democrat Who Challenged Jeb Bush in 2002, Is Dead at 67
Bill McBride, a powerful lawyer who unsuccessfully tried to unseat then-Gov. Jeb Bush in 2002 and later watched his wife, Alex Sink, also run for governor, has died. He was 67.
Doyle Conner, Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner Over Four Decades, Dies at 83
Doyle Conner, who was elected to the Legislature while still a college student, became the youngest House speaker in Florida history and then spent three decades as state agriculture commissioner, died Sunday, December 16 at a nursing home in Monticello, near Tallahassee.
Title IX Lets Girls Be Both Quarterback and Homecoming Queen
Erin DiMeglio made history as the first female in Florida to play quarterback in a varsity high school game, and was elected South Plantation High’s homecoming queen. That wouldn’t have happened without Title IX, the landmark legislation assuring females the same opportunities as boys at both the high school and college levels.
Hurricane Andrew 20 Years Later: Memories of Resilience in a Storm’s Wake
Frank Gromling, who lived and worked in the path of Hurricane Andrew 20 years ago, remembers the days of the storm and its aftermath in a South Florida ravished beyond recognition. A spirit for rebirth was left intact, however.
Claude Kirk, Florida’s First 20th Century Republican Governor, Is Dead at 85
Gov. Claude Kirk–flamboyant, outspoken, quirky–gave rise to Florida’s Republican ascendance and ushered in an era of environmental stewardship and conservation as governor between 1966 and 1970.
Stetson Kennedy, Nemesis of KKK And Jim Crow, Is Dead at 94
Stetson Kennedy, the civil rights activist, journalist, folklorist, author and lecturer, died in St. Augustine Saturday, Aug. 27, with his wife Sandra Parks at his side. He was lucid to the end.
Yes, Stetson Kennedy Is Still Alive: Labor and Civil Rights Legend at Stetson Wednesday
Stetson Kennedy, who unmasked the Ku Klux Klan after infiltrating it and remains a prominent voice for unions, labor and civil rights, gives a free lecture at Stetson University. He is 94.
Sunshine Fusion: Florida Art, Music & History Merge in Landmark Symphonic Performance
Mark your calendars for this one: A uniquely Florida, uniquely artistic performance of “A Historic Portrait in Sound” combing painting, music and words Sept. 18-19 in DeLand.
Dan Warren, Conqueror of St. Augustine at Its Bleakest, Still Heroic After All These Years
Dan Warren, who took on and broke the KKK’s grip on St. Augustine in the pivotal summer of 1964, was in Flagler Beach for an evening of conscience-rousing Thursday.