The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program regularly coordinates public programs to spotlight important research and drive discussion about topics related to oral history. Press kits are available here for the public including event posters, directions, and additional information. News releases publicizing research updates, student and staff accomplishments, and new initiatives are also available.
Upcoming Events
Solidarity Sessions
Solidarity Sessions is a discussion series at IBC and La Casita where professors, grad students, and community organizers lead students in discussions on various issues concerning Black and Latinx communities. These sessions are open and welcoming of all to provide them with a structured opportunity to meet and engage with a diverse body of scholars and community members at and around UF. Additionally, our goal for this series is to have the institutes serve as spaces to conduct and share research as well as to a bridge a gap between the Gainesville community and UF students and resources.
Baldwin | Achebe Africa | America @40
April 2-3, 2020
In April 1980 renowned African writer Chinua Achebe and African American literary giant James Baldwin met for the first time in Gainesville, Florida. On the 40th anniversary of Baldwin and Achebe’s historic encounter at the University of Florida, this two-day event invites return and reflection. The first day probes the experiential archive through oral history, memoir, and artifact. The second day invites literary engagement around reading, representing and writing the nexus of Africa and America in the present on the UF campus and across the community. Speakers will share their work and reflect on Baldwin and Achebe’s legacies.
Past Events
March 13, 2013, Stephanie Coontz and “The Feminine Mystique” at UF
- March 13, Stephanie Coontz and “The Feminine Mystique” Event News Release (DOC)
- March 13, Stephanie Coontz and “The Feminine Mystique” Event Poster (PDF)
- Buy Stephanie Coontz’s latest book, “A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s,” as well as her other publications.
- See also: Stephanie Coontz’s official biography, articles in the New York Times about family history, interview on the Colbert Report, and the website of the Council on Contemporary Families.
September 17-22, 2013, The 6th Annual Mississippi Delta Research Trip
- See also: University of Florida Freedom Summer Oral History and Library Curation Project Begins to Process Interviews with Mississippi Civil Rights Veterans News Release, August 16, 2013.
- September 17-22, The 6th Annual Mississippi Delta Research Trip Press Release (DOC)
- SPOHP’s official Mississippi Freedom Project page, including information about community partners in Mississippi.
September 19, 2013, “Violence, Non-violence, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965” Civil Rights History Panel at Delta State University
- September 19, “Violence, Non-violence, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965” Civil Rights history panel at DSU Event Listing
- Buy Akinyele Umoja’s book, “We Will Shoot Back: Armed Resistance in the Mississippi Freedom Movement.”
- See also: Akinyele Umoja’s official biography.
October 1, 2013, “Siempre Adelante” Official Premiere
- October 1, “Siempre Adelante” Official Trailer
- October 1, “Siempre Adelante” Official Premiere Press Release (DOC)
- October 1, “Siempre Adelante” Official Premiere Event Poster (PDF)
October 22, 2013, “Stetson Kennedy: Re-imagining Justice in the 21st Century”
- October 22, “Stetson Kennedy: Re-imagining Justice in the 21st Century” News Release (DOC)
- October 22, “Stetson Kennedy: Re-imagining Justice in the 21st Century” Poster (PDF)
- See also: The Stetson Kennedy Foundation.
December 4, 2013, “SPOHP in the Delta: 6th Annual Student Panel” at the Civic Media Center
- December 4, 2013, “SPOHP in the Delta: 6th Annual Student Panel” Event Poster
- Mississippi Freedom Project Delta Research Trip Information
- October 2013 Groundswell Blog, covering the 6th Annual Research Trip
January 15, 2014, “Trouble the Water” Film Screening & Symposium on Landmark Hurricane Katrina Film with Producer Tia Lessin at UF
- “Trouble the Water” film website
- Trouble the Water”> Screening & Symposium poster(PDF)
- “Trouble the Water” press release (PDF)
March 12, 2014, “The Florida Civil Rights Struggle: Past & Present” Panel and Multimedia Presentation, featuring the African American History Project
- “The Florida Civil Rights Struggle” poster (PDF)
- “The Florida Civil Rights Struggle” press release (PDF)
- View “The Florida Civil Rights Struggle” event trailer on Vimeo
- Information about the Tallahassee-Leon County Civil Rights Heritage Walk, featuring many SPOHP interviewees,from TalGov.com.
- Panelist biographies
- Dan Harmeling: “History and the People Who Make It” from the Gainesville Iguana
- John Due: “Civil Rights Pioneers” on Vimeo, speaking with his wife, Patricia Stephens in 2011
- Vivian Filer: “Spotlight on the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center” from the Nonprofit Center of North Central Florida. Also see WUFT’s 2013 feature on the organization and the UF Powell Center for Construction and the Environment’s archive of Cotton Club history.
March 12, 2014, “Scott Camil: Resistance & Liberation”
- “Scott Camil: Resistance & Liberation” poster (PDF)
- “Scott Camil: Resistance & Libereation” press release (PDF)
- View the “Scott Camil: Resistance & Liberation” event trailer on YouTube
April 9, 2014, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Workshop
April 17, 2014: Brown Bag Lunch with Liz Coursen, “Shade in the Sunshine State: Reflections on Segregation in Florida”
June 17, 2014: “Justice, Justice 1964” St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society Honors 50th Anniversary of Mass Rabbi Arrest for Civil Rights Demonstrations
February 13-22, 2015, “Gator Tales” with the UF School of Theatre & Dance
- February 13-22, 2015, “Gator Tales” Event Poster (PDF)
- February 13-22, 2015, “Gator Tales” News Release (PDF) (SPOHP)
- February 13-22, 2015, “Gator Tales” New Release (PDF) (UF College of the Arts)
February 28-March 8, 2015, Tucson Ethnic Studies Research Trip to Arizona with Latinx Diaspora in the Americas Project
- February 28-March 8, 2015, Tucson Ethnic Studies Research Trip News Release (PDF)
- February 28-March 8, 2015, Tucson Ethnic Studies Research Trip March 5 Panel News Release (PDF)
May 20, 2015, Emancipation Day Celebration with Cone Park Library
- May 20, 2015, SPOHP and Cone Park Library Partner for Special Emancipation Day Program Press Release
October 15, 2015, Oral History Association and “Gator Tales” Encore Performance
- October 2015, OHA 2015 SPOHP Press Release (PDF)
- October 15, 2015, “Gator Tales” Oral History Association Encore Performance press release (PDF)
November 11, 2015, “Sentimental Journey: World War II Here and Over There”
February 28, 2017, Documentary Screening of Love and Solidarity with Professor Mike Honey
March 21-23rd, 2019, “From Segregation to Black Lives Matter”
A Symposium and Celebration of the Opening of the Joel Buchanan Archive of African American Oral History
This symposium marks the formal opening of the Joel Buchanan African American Oral History Archive at the University of Florida to scholars, students, and researchers. To celebrate this historic occasion, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program is hosting a three-day symposium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 21-23 March 2019. The event will bring together scholars, educators, and community leaders to discuss the latest trends in African American history from K-12 to higher education. Participants will have the opportunity to view and to listen to films, podcasts and panelists. The event will also feature book-signings of noted authors. The Keynote Speaker will be Dr. Curtis Austin from the University of Oregon’s Department of History.