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 […]
By Dr. Rachel Pienta Post-election headlines for the last twenty or so years could easily be recycled. “Dems in disarray, shell-shocked Democrats” were two popular phrases in circulation after November’s surprise. We have been here before. Political folks and media pundits used to say that Florida determined the presidency. I always found that to be […]
An Insurrection long cooked in the Sunshine State – the Florida inspirations for the “Parler Putsch”
This has been a sad week in American history – though I begin this commentary with an ode to my colleague Brook Hines who coined the cleverly brilliant term “Parler Putsch” to describe this week’s effort at a insurgency by right-wing groups to overturn the results of November’s US Presidential Election. Parler is a right-wing […]
It’s our privilege this week on The Florida History Podcast, to be once again joined by Michael Grunwald, author of The Swamp and current writer for Politico Magazine. In this episode, we discuss the political fights over Everglades restoration since 1970. In the episode we discuss a wide ranging set of topics related to the “River of Grass,” the political, […]
It’s our privilege this week on The Florida History Podcast, to be joined by Michael Grunwald, author of The Swamp and current writer for Politico Magazine. In this episode we discuss the political fight over the building of the Jetport and how it awakened environmentalism in Florida. This is the first of two holiday season […]
It’s probably no secret to most of you reading this, that I like to get in the car and travel our state – especially during the holiday season. In all those years of traveling, I realize I have neglected the area I actually live in – Broward County. For years, I have been obsessed with […]
On this week’s Florida History Podcast we discuss how the route I-10 takes through the Tallahassee area today was not the original route that was sought. It wasn’t even the second or third choice. We discuss that and also other fights about roads through wooded and rural areas of North Florida on this week’s Florida […]
The raid conducted by law enforcement officials last week on Rebekah Jones home reinforced what Florida under long-term GOP rule has become – a state where the governing class conducts itself in a manner where arming citizens with information is discouraged and any competition of ideas or questioning of policies is strictly discouraged. What has […]
They are not as famous as Spanish Missions in Texas or California, but Florida’s network of missions predated those in other parts of North America and were quite impressive. Colonial Florida in the 1600’s hit a high point in terms of economic development – a high the areas that currently make up the State of […]
Disclaimer: In 2014, Kartik Krishnaiyer served as the statewide Deputy Campaign Manager for the Democratic nominee for Attorney General, the late George Sheldon. Sheldon’s GOP opponent was Attorney General Pam Bondi. The reaction to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s decision to join Texas’s lawsuit related to the 2020 Presidential Election reinforces what an important post […]
The Florida Squeeze 