The African American Heritage of Florida

by David R. Colburn (Editor), Jane L. Landers (Editor)

Africans participated in all the Spanish explorations and settlements in Florida, as they did throughout the Spanish Americas.  In Florida they helped establish St. Augustine and the free black community of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose.  Africans and African Americans fought in the many conflicts that wracked Florida, including the three Seminole Wars and the Civil War.
 Despite the oppressions of slavery and segregation, black Floridians struggled to establish their own communities, combat racism and economic deprivation, and negotiate the terms of their labor.  Against overwhelming odds, they helped develop communities like Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami, and they served as the critical labor force for the state's citrus, agricultural, and timber industries.
 For centuries, however, their heritage has been ignored.  These twelve essays examine the rich and substantial African American heritage of Florida, documenting African American contributions to the state's history from the colonial era to the late twentieth century.  

402 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1976

Reviews

[Reese Gaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly good. This book is a series of essays on Black communities in Florida from the early days of Spanish rule up to the end of the 20th century. The essays are really fascinating for a variety of reasons but they really highlight the unique history of Florida as compared to the rest of the Americas through telling stories of Black resistance to slavery, Jim crow, and colonization. Whether resistance was through taking advantage of rivalries between the Spanish and English colonizers to attain freedom, becoming integral diplomats between Seminoles and Americans in negotiating treaties, or escaping to Florida after years of service in the Haitian revolution, the book does a good job of showing Black people and communities and their means of resistance as complex and three dimensional.

Should for sure read this if you live in Florida. There are a couple essays I think fall a bit flat but most of them are really good. Also the book is a bit dated which mostly just leads to some antiquated terminology but also obviously means the authors don't have the benefit of the insight of the last 25+ years

Best of the best essays imo
African Religious Retentions in Florida
Blacks and the Seminole Removal Debate
Freedom was as Close as the River: African Americans and the Civil War in Northeast Florida
No Longer Denied: Black Women in Florida 1920-1950
Groveland: Florida's Little Scottsborro
The Pattern of Race Relations in Miami since the 1920s