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NEWS
Congratulations to Brandon Jett for a Busy and Productive Year
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Julian Chambliss Named Val Berryman Curator of History at the MSU Museum
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The FCH congratulates Brandon T. Jett (Florida SouthWestern State College) on his first book Race, Crime, and Policing in the Jim Crow South: African Americans and Law Enforcement in Birmingham, Memphis, and New Orleans, 1920-1945 (available for pre-order through LSU Press). This work provides powerful historical insights into current debates about race and policing. Brandon has also written an article in the Washington Post (co-authored with Christopher McKnight Nichols) about the historical roots of public sacrifice in the United States. Just before the 2020 election, he was also featured in another article in the Tampa Bay Times on the challenges that progressives face in Hendry County, where he and his family live. He also lent his expertise to local debates about the dismantling of Confederate monuments in southwest Florida. Brandon attended his first FCH annual meeting in 2014 as history graduate student from the University of Florida. We are so proud of his success!
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Congratulations to Julian Chambliss, past President of the FCH, who has been appointed as the Val Berryman Curator of History at the Michigan State University Museum in East Lansing, Michigan! Julian is Professor of English with a joint appointment in the History Department at Michigan State University. He is co-editor and contributor for Ages of Heroes Eras of Men: Superheroes and the American Experience (2013); co-editor of Assembling the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Essays on the Social, Cultural and Geopolitical Domain (2018); and co-editor of Cities Imagined: The African Diaspora in Media and History (2018). He has published commentary in the Frieze Magazine, Boston Review, Black Perspective: The Blog of the African American Intellectual History Society, Los Angeles Times, The Orlando Sentinel, The Christian Science Monitor, and National Public Radio (NPR). In addition, he is co-producer and host of Every Tongue Got to Confess, a podcast exploring communities of color through the lens of the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities. He and Scot French (University of Central Florida) also just collaborated in producing an episode of "Reframing History".
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Award-Winning Documentary "Marching Forward" Screened Nationally
“Marching Forward” was screened at the 2020 FCH Annual Meeting. This documentary features the history that revolved around two dedicated high school band directors–James Wilson, the African-American bandleader at Jones High School, and Delbert Kieffner, the white bandleader at Edgewater High School–who were inspired by music to cross color lines in the Deep South. The documentary is the fourth that Professor of History Robert Cassanello and Professor of Film Lisa Mills have made in the past decade along with students in their Honors Advanced Documentary Workshop class. “Marching Forward” was a recipient of the Atman Award for Diversity in Film. The film is soon going into national distribution on local public television stations beginning in February 2020 (for Black History Month) and continuing on for the next five years. Click here to view the trailer.
FCH Executive Council Opposes State Civic Literacy Test
In May 2020, the Executive Council of the FCH held a special online meeting to discuss the decision by the State Board of Education of Florida to allow a high school student to satisfy the post-secondary civic literacy requirement by taking one multiple choice question test with a 60% minimum score. The Council voted unanimously in support of a petition to have the decision rescinded and agreed that this test actually undermines civic literacy because it is in no way equal to taking a class in History and Political Science. The Executive Council thanked Dr. David Proctor, Secretary, and Bob Holladay, a friend of the FCH, for their efforts in opposing this measure. Bob has been busy rallying support in the media, particularly on the Capital Report and Florida Phoenix, and has enlisted the support of other organizations, such as the Tallahassee Historical Society, Inc. and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.
Seth Weitz and Jonathan C. Sheppard Publish Volume on the Civil War in Florida
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Congratulations to Seth A. Weitz (Dalton State College) and Jonathan C. Sheppard (Executive Director, Mission San Luis) for the publication of A Forgotten Front: Florida during the Civil War Era! According to the University of Alabama Press, the essays "examine the most significant military engagements and the guerrilla warfare necessitated by the occupied coastline. Contributors look at the politics of war, beginning with the decade prior to the outbreak of the war through secession and wartime leadership and examine the period through the lenses of race, slavery, women, religion, ethnicity, and historical memory." Reviewers agree that this edited volume is an extraordinary contribution to a neglected aspect of Civil War history. You can purchase a copy through the University of Alabama Press website.
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FCH Features Discussions on Florida's Constitutions
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The Tallahassee Democrat Promotes
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In 2018, Florida commemorated the 50th anniversary of the state's Constitution. The FCH sponsored talks with historians who reflected on all of the constitutions in Florida.
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In his widely read column in the Tallahassee Democrat, Bob Holladay, the "Florida Bookman" himself, wrote a great article on the career and projects of Dr. Joe Knetsch, the famed historian of Florida. Mr. Holladay also promoted the 2018 annual meeting of the FCH! Congratulations to David Proctor for a great meeting!
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Blaine T. Browne's Most Recent Books Explore World War II and 1968
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Jay Clarke's New Book Tackles the History of Philanthropy
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Dr. Blaine T. Browne has co-authored (with Dr. Robert C. Cottrell) 1968: The Rise and Fall of the New American Revolution and more recently Mighty Endeavor: The American Nation and World War II. Dr. Browne earned a doctorate in American history at the University of Oklahoma in 1985. An active participant in the Florida Conference of Historians since 1994, he has served as President three times (1996-1997, 2002-2003, and 2011-2012). Now retired from Broward College and living in his home state of Oklahoma, he has authored numerous articles and books, including Uncertain Order: The World in the Twentieth Century and Modern American Lives: Biographies in American History since 1945.
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The FCH congratulates Jay Clarke (Professor Emeritus of History at Jacksonville University) on the publication of his new book titled Fifty Years of Begging: Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke and Christian Children’s Fund. Beginning in 1938, Dr. Clarke, Jay's grandfather, ran the world's largest Protestant organization dedicated to children's welfare. Fifty Years of Begging is an exploration into Dr. Clarke's life and legacy in the world of philanthropy during the 20th century. Jay's book was recently reviewed in the Blue Ink Review. Jay has served as the FCH president (1997-1998, 2003-2004, and 2008-2009) and founded the FCH Annals, our peer reviewed journal. The FCH has named the award for the best undergraduate paper presented at the annual meeting after him.
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FCH Organizers Featured on
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FCH Passes Resolution on
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Tom Donaldson (Florida SouthWestern State College), Nicola Foote (Florida Gulf Coast University), Michael Cole (Florida Gulf Coast University), and Jesse Hingson (Jacksonville University) were on Gulf Coast Live on WGCU with Julie Glenn to promote the 2017 annual meeting in Punta Gorda! This was part of an effort to spread the word about the annual meeting and draw in the public about the good work that our participants are doing!
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At the FCH annual meeting in Punta Gorda, President-Elect, Dr. David Proctor (Tallahassee Community College) introduced a resolution calling on the Florida state legislature to pass a history requirement for all public college and universities. Members overwhelmingly supported the resolution. Dr. Proctor has also drafted a letter to the Speaker of Florida's House of Representatives, Richard Corcoran.
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Mayhill C. Fowler Produces Groundbreaking Work on Soviet Culture
In Beau Monde on Empire’s Edge, Mayhill C. Fowler tells the story of the rise and fall of a group of men who created both Soviet and Ukrainian culture. This collective biography showcases new aspects of the politics of cultural production in the Soviet Union by focusing on theater and on the multi-ethnic borderlands. Unlike their contemporaries in Moscow or Leningrad, these artists from the regions have been all but forgotten despite the quality of their art. Dr. Fowler teaches in the History Department at Stetson University and regularly attends the FCH annual meetings. To purchase this work, please go to the book's Amazon page or the publisher's website.
Leslie K. Poole's New
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Heribert von Feilitzsch
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Christopher Williams Publishes Two Books
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Leslie Kemp Poole's Saving Florida: Women's Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century (University Press of Florida) has recently been reviewed in the American Historical Review and the Journal of American History. Leslie is a Professor at Rollins College and the winner of the 2015 Thomas M. Campbell Award. To buy her book, visit her website www.lesliekemppoole.com.
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In 2016, Canadians marked the 100th anniversary of the fire that burned Canada's parliament building and killed seven people. The question remains what or who caused it. Harry von Feilitzsch, a regular participant at our annual meetings, has been interviewed by the Toronto Sun, CTV News (Canada), and the Toronto Star. Harry is also the author of several books on the history of German spying in the Americas.
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Chris Williams has published Defining the Caymanian Identity and a new book titled Between A Past and Present Consciousness: Critiques of the Development of the Caymanian People. Chris teaches at the University College of the Cayman Islands and won the 2012 Thomas M. Campbell Award for the best article published in the FCH Annals. These works are available on AmazonSmile.
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Michael Butler Publishes with the University of North Carolina Press
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The University of North Carolina Press has announced the publication of J. Michael Butler's Beyond Integration: The Black Freedom Struggle in Escambia County, Florida, 1960-1980. From the UNC Press website: "Viewing the events of Escambia County within the context of the broader civil rights movement, Michael demonstrates that while activism of the previous decade destroyed most visible and dramatic signs of racial segregation, institutionalized forms of cultural racism still persisted...Offering a new perspective on the literature of the black freedom struggle, the book reveals how with each legal step taken toward racial equality, notions of black inferiority became more entrenched, reminding us just how deeply racism remained--and still remains--in our society." Michael is a professor of history at Flagler College and serves on the Browne Award Committee, which decides the best graduate paper presented at the annual meeting.
To order his book, please go to the UNC Press website or through the FCH Amazon page. |
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Anthony Atwood Secures $1.5 million for the Miami Military Museum
The state of Florida has awarded $1.5 million to the Miami Military Museum and Memorial. This was part of an on-going restoration effort led by Anthony D. Atwood, a long time FCH participant and former editor of the FCH Proceedings. To date, this project has raised $6.2 million and is one of the largest historic restorations underway in Florida today. It is a large (14,000 sq.ft.) three-story wood frame structure embodying the strong colonial revival look of the wartime era. Relocated to adjoin both the Zoo Miami and Gold Coast Railroad Museum, it will focus on the military history and heritage of Florida. Once in operation, the institution will tap into the vast existing curriculum of field trips to Zoo Miami, and establish an Educational Center in concert with the the Miami-Dade School Board (4th largest in the US), the state university in Miami, Florida International University, and north Florida's WWII Institute at FSU. We look forward to hosting an annual meeting at the museum very soon! For more information, please visit their website: http://www.southfloridamilitarymuseum.org
Jesse Hingson Takes Jacksonville University Students on Trips to Cuba
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Jesse Hingson (Jacksonville University and FCH Treasurer) co-led a study abroad trip to Santiago de Cuba in March 2018 and more recently to Havana in November 2019. In March 2016, he took students on a week-long trip that coincided with President Barack Obama's visit, an expedition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba's national team, and a free performance by the Rolling Stones, their first ever concert in Cuba. CNN's Chris Cuomo interviewed JU students while walking through the streets of Old Havana. To see the interview, please visit:
http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/03/21/cuba-change-obama-cuomo-pkg.cnn |
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Mike Denham
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Julian Chambliss
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