Featured Collections

Welcome to the African American Experience in Florida Portal

In 2020, soon after the world learned of the death of George Floyd, USF Libraries Dean Todd Chavez wrote in an email that “Anyone watching the recent protests and demonstrations has to wonder, how will we solve the deep, ingrained problem of systemic racism? The Dean’s message continued by stating that the USF Libraries would contribute to the solution by leveraging existing collections to “promote peaceful solutions and promote social justice for all.” The USF Libraries Special Collections in Tampa and St. Petersburg are supporting that initiative by creating this portal.

Stories of racism against African Americans, ranging from narratives of the formerly enslaved to news reports about Black Lives Matter protests, are preserved in the USF Libraries archival collections that serve as the foundation for this portal. These collections are not only about the history of injustice, but also the regular daily lives of individuals, families, businesses, culture and communities during the state’s long history.

The portal you are visiting is just the beginning of a long-term project to highlight current and future materials that advance the conversation about the African American experience in Florida. We look forward to preserving and sharing those stories with you.

Activism

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Community

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Black-Owned Businesses

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The Arts

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Journalism

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General African-American History

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Latest Blog Entries

Francisco Rodriguez, Jr.: Ybor City’s Champion of Equal Opportunity

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On July 28, 1868, US Secretary of State William Seward announced that the Fourteenth Amendment had been ratified. Three years after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, the Fourteenth nullified the Dred Scott ruling, declaring that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” are citizens. The Fourteenth also includes the Equal Protection Clause, which…

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Independence Day Dissent

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Readers of the July 4, 1998, edition of The Weekly Challenger were confronted with a bracing front-page headline: “Independence Day Has Little Meaning to African-Americans.” “July 4th is a precious and patriotic holiday for most Americans,” the piece begins, “heralding the Declaration of Independence by the thirteen ‘American’ colonies from the mother country, Britain, in…

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