| Welcome To U.B.I.F (Us Blacks In Florida) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Black History Facts In Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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African Americans have made significant contributions to Florida's history. To recognize their impact on the heritage of the state, the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources has published the Florida Black Heritage Trail, which features important places, people and events that reflect the impact of African Americans to Florida's heritage. The book serves as an educational and travel guide for those who wish to learn more about Black history in Florida. Most sites listed are accessible to the public. The Florida Black Heritage Trail contains descriptions of more than 140 places important to the history of Florida, profiles of important African Americans, and a guide to ethnic festivals throughout the state. It also includes three self-guided driving tours and contains color photographs throughout. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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In 1884, blacks were allowed to swim one day a week at what is now Jacksonville Beach, and, in the early 1900s, nearby Manhattan Beach became a popular beach exclusively for blacks. But Manhattan Beach lost its popularity and was taken over by the federal government as part of a naval base. The most popular Florida resort for Southern blacks soon became American Beach, which was developed by the Afro-American Life Insurance Company. The company began sponsoring outings to the beach, located on Amelia Island near Jacksonville, then acquired the land and created the resort for blacks. This is a story that deserves to be told. Unfortunately, Phelts mixes history, personal recollections and opinion to create a disappointing hodgepodge. The book fails to explain why the beach flourished and why it has failed to develop, even as the rest of the island has become a world-class resort. The definitive history of the beach is yet to be written. Anyone seeking to learn more about blacks in Florida will find dozens of books to choose from. These are among the best: "African Americans in Florida" by Maxine Jones and Kevin McCarthy (Pineapple Press; 1993) offers a well-illustrated series of essays about key blacks in Florida, and is appropriate for children. "Black Florida" by Kevin McCarthy (Hippocrene Books; 1995) provides a guided tour of black history in more than 50 Florida cities, including Orlando, DeLand, Eatonville, Leesburg and Sanford. Packed with facts, it's one of those books you can open to any page and start reading. "The African American Heritage of Florida", edited by David Colburn and Jane Landers (University Press of Florida; 1995) is a scholarly examination of blacks in Florida. It includes chapters on black women in Florida and Lake County's infamous Groveland case. The best telling of black life during Reconstruction is Jerrell Shofner's "Nor Is It Over Yet" (University Press of Florida; 1974). During Reconstruction, Florida elected a black congressman whose story is well told in Peter Klingman's "Josiah Walls: Florida's Black Congressman" (University Press of Florida; 1976). James Weldon Johnson's autobiography", "Along This Way (out of print; available in libraries), traces his life from a childhood in Jacksonville to leadership of the civil rights movement. The best biography of Johnson is "James Weldon Johnson: Black Leader, Black Voice" by Eugene Levy (University of Chicago Press; 1975). The story of T.T. Fortune, another native Floridian who found fame after leaving the state, can be found in "T. Thomas Fortune, Militant Journalist" (University of Chicago Press; 1972) by Emma Lou Thornbrough. Violence against blacks was common in Florida, often ending in lynchings. James McGovern's "The Anatomy of a Lynching" (Louisiana State University Press; 1982) looks at the Florida lynching of Claude Neal, and may well be the best book on the subject. The best biography of the founder of Bethune-Cookman College is "Mary McLeod Bethune" by Rackham Holt (Doubleday; 1964). The life and works of Eatonville writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston are examined in Robert Hemenway's "Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography" (University of Illinois Press; 1967). Know your Facts! If you need to find Black information go to http://www.blackfacts.com/. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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