Category Florida History
MLK Jr. Birthday weekend – Andrew Young Crossing in St Augustine
We’ve discussed the critical importance of Martin Luther King Jr’s St Augustine campaign many times in the past. In 2011, the City of St Augustine dedicated a memorial to the steps taken by one of King’s right-hand men, future Congressman, UN Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young. Here is a short video on Young and St Augustine.
MLK Day 2023: MLK’s passing 55 years ago and its impact on Florida politics
In 1968, Alabama’s Democratic former Governor George Wallace who had become a national figure with his “stand in the schoolhouse door” ran for President on the ticket of the “American Independent Party.” The candidacy despite coded words like “crime,” “law breakers,” and “patriotism” was about one thing- race. Wallace had been a populist earlier in […]
MLK Jr Day Weekend: The St Augustine campaign, a written history
In commemoration of Martin Luther King Day 2021, it is timely to recall the critical role Florida played in the passage of Civil Rights legislation- specifically St Augustine which the epicenter of MLK Jr. and Southern Christian Leadership Council (SLC) activity during the Senate filibuster of the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964. Listen: The Florida […]
The Decline and Fall of Florida Democrats
To start 2023, newly elected Chair of the Leon County Democratic Party Ryan Ray joins us on the Florida History Podcast to discuss the long decline of Florida Democrats fortunes from 1990 onward which culminated in a total vote collapse in 2022. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which hosts our show), Spotify, Google, Apple Podcasts, Radio […]
Remembering Rosewood- 100 years later
Listen back to our podcast on the Rosewood Massacre, as today is the 100th Anniversary of Rosewood, a day of infamy in Florida’s history. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which hosts our show), Spotify, Google, Apple Podcasts, Radio Public, Breaker, Overcast, Castro or Pocket Casts. Overcast, Castro, Spotify, Radio Public and Breaker have App Store apps for free which enable you […]
The Sinking of the Commodore
On New Years Eve 1896, a ship with a famous passenger, Stephen Crane and lots of armaments for Cuban revolutionaries left Jacksonville for Havana. It never made it. We tell the story in this podcast. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which hosts our show), Spotify, Google, Apple Podcasts, Radio Public, Breaker, Overcast, Castro or Pocket Casts. Overcast, Castro, Spotify, Radio Public […]
Books about Claude Pepper are a great Florida-themed last minute holiday gift
PODCAST: Claude Pepper’s second act PODCAST: Smathers v Pepper For the holidays we recommend both Red Pepper and Gorgeous George: Claude Pepper’s Epic Defeat in the 1950 Democratic Primary (Florida Government and Politics) and Claude Pepper and Ed Ball: Politics, Purpose, and Power (Florida History and Culture) While most modern historians and political activists would point to […]
1715 Treasure Fleet and Henry Jennings
On this week’s Florida History Podcast, we discuss the famous 1715 Treasure Fleet which washed up near modern day Vero Beach and the character of Henry Jennings a British privateer. turned pirate who was instrumental in the theft of some of the riches from the fleet. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which […]
The Ocala Thanksgiving fire of 1883
In a short episode this week of the Florida History Podcast, we discuss the 1883 Ocala Fire which destroyed two luxury hotels and six city blocks. Ocala was a frontier town at the time but was rebuilt and became a key Florida city in the aftermath. You can listen to the Florida History Podcast on Anchor (which […]
The Florida Squeeze 