University of Florida Homepage

Dr. Ortiz is teaching an intro to oral history course…

SPOHP Director Dr. Paul Ortiz is teaching a course this spring on oral history! This interdisciplinary seminar is an intensive introduction to the theory and practice of oral history. Students will have access to the resources of the award-winning Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. We will learn the craft of oral history interviewing and digital […]

New Spring Internship on the Black Freedom Struggle in Florida

SPOHP’s spring 2019 internship will focus on the Black Freedom Struggle in Florida, and will dovetail with our March 21-23 national symposium, From Segregation to Black Lives Matter. Students will work closely with our African American oral history interviews and other archival materials, and help us to conduct and transcribe new interviews to add to […]

SPOHP Contributes Travel Support for OHA Conference Attendees from Hurricane-Affected Areas

The OHA’s Day of Giving last year raised money for scholarships to fund travel to the Annual OHA Conference for those in hurricane-affected areas. With matching funds provided by the Chao Center for Asian Studies at Rice University and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida, the OHA was able to […]

Home Away from Home: Remembering Refugees in Florida

Welcoming Gainesville and Alachua County and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida are holding a public event titled “Home Away from Home: Remembering Refugees in Florida” on September 20, 2018 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm at Pugh Hall Ocora (296 Buckman Drive Gainesville FL 32611). The event will feature the oral history of refugees in Jacksonville, Florida, collected by Seyeon Hwang, a doctoral student in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Florida, and various state-wide and national efforts in refugee advocacy, followed by a talk-back session with refugees and refugee resettlement professionals from Florida.

Check Out Our Students’ Reflections On Our Annual Mississippi Freedom Trip

Check out these reflections our students wrote just after their successful and exciting trips doing oral history fieldwork in the Mississippi Delta as part of our Mississippi Freedom Project! The Mississippi Freedom Project (MFP) is an award-winning archive of 200+ oral history interviews conducted with veterans of the civil rights movement and notable residents of […]

Commemorating Black and Brown Wednesday

As we work diligently on our documentary project on the history of Institute of Black Culture and Institute of Hispanic and Latino Affairs, today we commemorate the one-year anniversary of Black and Brown Wednesday, a historical moment at the University of Florida. On July 12, 2017, No La IBCita and their supporters, protested the proposal […]

SPOHP Scholars present at National Civil Rights Conference

SPOHP Undergraduate Research Coordinator Oliver Tesluma and undergraduate Political Science major, as well as SPOHP alums Assistant Professor Jessica Taylor of Virginia Tech and George Washington University doctoral student Candice Ellis, presented papers at the 8th National Civil Rights Conference, which took place on June 17-20, 2018 in Meridian and Philadelphia, Mississippi. This year’s conference theme was “Lets Rise, Advocate, Educate and Cooperate.” Their papers were presented during a panel presentation entitled, Recording Civil Rights History: the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) and the Mississippi Freedom Project.

Intersections Grant Awarded!

Dr. Paul Ortiz and SPOHP will take part in developing UF undergrad courses on Intersections of Global Blackness and Latinx Identity through an Intersections Research-Into-Teaching Grant from the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere & Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This Intersections group will emphasize how popular culture, visual arts, and performance reverberate globally through […]

Our Summer B Intro to Oral History Course Will Focus on FL Farmworker History

Summer B 2018, July 2 – August 10 AMH 3593: Introduction to Oral History Course Overview This course will introduce students to the theories and methods of oral history. Oral history is an important methodological approach to documenting the past which allows historians to engage directly with narrators who share their life experiences touching on […]

From Colored to Black: The Stories of North Central Florida

We will be sharing nine dramatic vignettes created by our students and performed by members of the local theatre community with our performance, “From Colored to Black: The Stories of North Central Florida,” at the Harn Museum of Art‘s Museum Nights this Thursday night! The performance, a partnership with Actors’ Warehouse, Inc., will take place 6:00-7:00PM in […]

“Voices From The March” Students Fundraise to Perform at SOHA Conference

After headlining the 2018 UF Social Justice Summit this past January Voices from the March will be traveling to California this April to perform at the Southwest Oral History Association Annual Conference, hosted at California State University, Fullerton! Please help us raise money to assist in covering the travel and lodging costs for our cast. We have been working […]

Art of Aging

In the summer of 2017 SPOHP partnered with UF College of Medicine, to develop an oral history segment for the Geriatrics Medicine Clerkship, a required rotation for all 4th year medical students that Dr. Otto directs. SPOHP’s Ryan Thompson took on leadership for its half of the partnership. This marked the beginning of another significant […]

Now on UFDC: “Keep Your Trash” (1971) First Documentary on Memphis Sanitation Worker’s Strike

“Keep Your Trash” 1971 Documentary on Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike Newly Released for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebrations on UF Digital Collections Gainesville, FL—Award-winning PBS documentarian Churchill Roberts was a doctoral student at the University of Iowa in 1971 when he produced the first documentary film recounting events of the historic 1968 Memphis Sanitation […]

NAFTA’s Long Shadow: Where immigration and economic policy meet

SPOHP alumna and longtime research collaborator Dr. Sarah McNamara was published on Public Seminar with an essay titled, “NAFTA’s Long Shadow Where immigration and economic policy meet.” Sarah is a professor and historian at Texas A & M University whose work centers on Latinx, women and gender, and labor in the modern United States. Read a sample […]

Our Year-End Journal is Available Now

Dear Friends of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, As you will read in this exciting end-of- year progress report, SPOHP has reached more students, scholars, and members of the general public than ever. We have conducted community-based oral history workshops with churches, businesses, university classes, veteran’s groups, African American history museums, Native American nations […]

Telling Gainesville: A Film Screening

Please join military veterans and their families for a special Veterans Day film screening of the play “Telling Gainesville.” Telling Gainesville is part of a nationwide initiative by the National Endowment for the Humanities that connects civilian audiences with veterans in a creative, supportive environment. “Telling Gainesville” ran to standing-room- only audiences at the Actor’s […]

Voices from the March: A Multi-Media Experience

On January 27th, our Fall interns and staff will be performing an original multi-media play titled Voices from the March at the 2018 UF Social Justice Summit. A collaboration between the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program and the Center for Women’s Studies, this verbatim theater piece compiles oral history narratives from the Women’s March on Washington as […]

Black and Latinx History of the Gator Nation: Spring 2018 Course

AFA 4931: A BLACK AND LATINXHISTORY OF THE GATOR NATION This upcoming Spring, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program is offering a oral history methods course course called Black and Latinx History of the Gator Nation. Students enrolled in this course in Spring 2018 (MWF 5th) will create new archives on Black and Latinx history […]

Spring 2018 Internship: The Jacob Lawrence Project

This semester-long academic internship is available to graduate and undergraduate students for credit. In partnership with the Harn Museum, SPOHP, and The Actors’ Warehouse Community Theater, interns will develop an original site-specific performance by exploring connections between archived oral history interviews with Black residents of North Central Florida and iconic artwork by Jacob Lawrence (harn.ufl.edu/jacoblawrence). […]

Mississippi Freedom Fieldwork Panel Sept. 27

Mississippi Freedom Fieldwork Panel Presentation Ustler Hall Wednesday, Sept. 27th 3:00 PM On Wednesday the 27th the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program will host a panel of students to discuss their experience interviewing in Mississippi. This panel celebrates SPOHP’s 10th year of sending students out to the Mississippi Delta region to interview those involved in […]

SPOHP Open House Scheduled for Sept. 29

September 29th from noon to 2 PM, SPOHP is hosting an Open House in the SPOHP office to welcome students and faculty alike to get acquainted with our program, staff and dozens of exciting on going projects. Visitors can expect to enjoy refreshments as they learn about SPOHP’s fieldwork, internships, and volunteer opportunities as well as our many upcoming public […]

SPOHP Intern at the Defend DACA/Save TPS Rally at Orlando City Hall

rally

SPOHP intern Chelsey Hendry Simmons attended the Defend DACA/Save TPS Rally at Orlando City Hall. The rally was held just one hour after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump Administration would be rescinding DACA, the Obama-era executive order protecting over 800,000 undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children from deportation. The […]

MCDA’s Anti-Racism Education Week

MCDA is proud to present: Anti-Racism Education Week. Come join us as we engage in an event series on anti-racism education, self-care, and education on the first amendment. This is a great opportunity to interact with faculty, staff, and peers on how to challenge racism and bigotry on our campus and in our community. TUESDAY […]

SPOHP is Sponsoring this Years Latino Film Festival!

“Since 2005, the Gainesville Latino Film Festival has featured hundreds of groundbreaking, highly acclaimed and thought-provoking films from Latin America. In 2017, our mission continues: to afford Gainesville the unique opportunity to see world-class cinema, innovative shorts, international award winners, and foster diverse experiences that link people through the art of cinema- launching Gainesville as a cultural […]

Jeffrey Pufahl To Transform Interviews from the Women’s March on Washington Trip into a Play

We are thrilled to announce that our 2017-2018 visiting scholar is Jeffrey Pufahl, joining us from the UF College of the Arts (UF Center for Arts in Medicine). Currently, he is building on an existing partnership between SPOHP and the UF Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women’s Studies Research, to help students translate their collected research and interviews […]

SPOHP-ed Written by Mississippi Freedom Trip Researchers Published in the Gainesville Sun

Marcela Murillo and Chad Chavira participated in our 10th Annual Mississippi Freedom Project trip last month. Check out their op-ed, “Effects of Till’s Murder Still Felt Today,” through which they reflect on their experiences in the Mississippi Delta. Co-writing credits to UF students Nicole Yapp and Toni-Lee Maitland: Marcela Murillo and Chad Chavira: Effects of […]

Welcoming Gainesville Fall 2017 Civic Engagement Internship

Welcoming Gainesville is partnering with the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at UF to offer academic internships in using history to inform the creation of  programs aimed at combating prejudice, building a climate of welcome and support for immigrants, refugees, and international students, and helping them integrate into the local community. Interns will work directly […]

SPOHP Sponsoring the Jacob Lawrence Workshop

SPOHP is sponsoring a Jacob Lawrence workshop at the Harn Museum June 24th at 12:30PM, featuring a discussion of Jacob Lawrence’s life and work, and upcoming exhibition, “History, Labor, Life: The Prints of Jacob Lawrence.” This exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of influential American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000). Lawrence was primarily concerned with the narration of […]

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s Summer 2017 Newsletter

50 Years of Collaboration “From participating in interviews, to engaging with the collection, to attending SPOHP’s events, the public is the lifeforce behind SPOHP’s past, present, and future.” -Dr. Paul Ortiz This jubilee year, SPOHP wants to reflect, say thank you and plan for the future. Thanks to our supporters, SPOHP has had one of its most productive […]

Spring 2017 Internship Class Podcasts: Civic Engagement

With the help of coordinators Raja Rahim and Ryan Thompson, the Spring 2017 interns produced podcasts about Civic Engagement at the University of Florida. University of Florida Digital Collections Archive To date, 90+ oral history podcast pieces are available on the University of Florida’s Digital Collections website, including final projects for internship classes, as well as […]

Former SPOHP Director Julian M. Pleasants Releases New Book

“A powerful book; a tale of heroism, volunteerism, and sacrifice.”—Gary R. Mormino, author of Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida “Personal anecdotes humanize the narrative and add a poignant impact. The use of newspaper editorials also provides an understanding of how North Carolinians responded to the war.”—Melton A. McLaurin, […]

Safe Spaces: Episode 2 – “Friends with Weapons”

http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/05/48/49/00001/Safe%20Spaces%20OHFC.mp3   This episode of the Safe Spaces series focuses on an African American armed defense organization that protected Civil Rights Movement demonstrators in Ocala, Florida in the 1960s. Challenging the misconception that the Civil Rights Movement was based entirely on non-violence, the story of the Ocala Hunting and Fishing Club illustrates the diversity of […]

Fall 2017 Internship Applications Are Now Available

The Fall 2017 Internship Application is now open!  SPOHP’s semester-long academic internship is available to graduate and undergraduate students for credit as an introduction to the field of oral history. The Fall 2017 Social Justice Initiatives internship offers a space for students to pursue their own interests in social justice research through training and mentoring in […]

Big News: We’re On the Air!

Beginning Thursday, March 16th, the SPOHP Radio Hour hits the airwaves DAILY at 8:00 a.m. on WUBA 88.1 FM. Drawing from the 7,500+ interviews in the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program archive at the University of Florida, the SPOHP Radio Hour will air daily at 8 am on WUBA 88.1 FM with fascinating stories on people from all walks […]

Line Wraps Around Theater in Tacoma, WA for “Love and Solidarity”

Filmmaker Michael Honey raves about a successful turn out at a screening of Love and Solidarity at The Grand Cinema in Tacoma, Washington.   Friends, In Tacoma last night, the Grand Cinema theater was packed with about 120 people  and 20 or more lined up outside and unable to get a seat. “Love and Solidarity” looks […]

Public Screening of “Gator Tales”

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program in conjunction with Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency will host a free film screening (PDF) of “Gator Tales,” the award-winning theatrical performance which highlights the experiences of the first generation of African American students at the University of Florida. The screening will be Friday, February 17, 2017 at Bo Diddley Plaza […]

Gainesville 8: Episode 3 (Final Cut)

In this final installment of SPOHP volunteer John Paul Lorie’s three-part podcast on the Gainesville Eight, we hear the story of the federal government’s indictment of the Eight on charges of conspiracy to disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention. We hear the lawyer for the defendants assess the prosecution’s case, and describe the legal strategy his firm adopted for defending these veterans in court. We also hear direct testimony from members of the Eight including Scott Camil, as well as other VVAW members who were subpoenaed to testify, in describing the FBI’s infiltration of VVAW and the flagrant violations of their constitutional rights that ensued. Given that we are currently witnessing–and some of us participating in–a new era of demonstration and direct action, this story is of particular relevance to questions of lawful protest and the constitutional rights of demonstrators.

Safe Spaces: Episode 1 – No Place Like Home

This first episode of the Safe Spaces series spring-boards off of the controversial acceptance letter sent out this year to incoming students of the University of Chicago, and it follows a racially charged and abnormally divisive presidential election. It explores what a safe space means to different students and faculty at the University of Florida and what influences them to create those spaces on campus. We will be examining what it took to put institutes such as IBC and La Casita in place as well as the significance of Ethnic Studies programs for students of all walks of life.

Fall 2016 Internship Class Podcasts: Sport at the University of Florida

With the help of coordinators Johanna Mellis and Raja Rahim, the Fall 2016 interns produced podcasts about sport history at the University of Florida. University of Florida Digital Collections Archive To date, 90+ oral history podcasts are available on the University of Florida’s Digital Collections website, including final projects for internship classes, as well as the Summer 2013 […]

Gainesville 8: Episode 2

In this second installment of SPOHP volunteer John Paul Lorie’s three-part podcast on the Gainesville Eight, we hear Scott Camil and other members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) describing the founding of the organization and the recruitment of new members. One of the VVAW’s first major actions concluded with a march on the gates of the Capitol in which decorated veterans made short statements into a microphone and then threw their medals over the fence and toward the Capitol building. We also hear about the U.S. government’s harassment of Scott Camil in response to the effectiveness of his activism, preparing us for next week’s final installment which will describe the indictment of the Gainesville Eight on charges of conspiracy to disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention.

Gainesville 8: Episode 1

Just on the heels of Veteran’s Day, SPOHP volunteer John Paul Lorie has assembled a three-part special feature on the Gainesville Eight. Members of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, the Gainesville Eight were indicted on charges of conspiracy to disrupt the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. This first podcast follows one member of the Gainesville Eight, Scott Camil, through his military experiences in Vietnam and then the events that led him to join the VVAW.

Spring 2016 Internship Class Podcasts: Florida Craft Brew

With the help of coordinators Johanna Mellis and Meagan Frenzer, the Spring 2016 interns produced podcasts about the local history of craft brewing in Florida. Image from Visit Gainesville. University of Florida Digital Collections Archive To date, 90+ oral history podcasts are available on the University of Florida’s Digital Collections website, including final projects for internship classes, as […]

Fall 2015 Internship Class Podcasts (coordinated by Kyle Bridge and Meagan Frenzer): International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

Fall 2015 interns produced podcasts on about the local history of the IBEW. Image from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Wikipedia article. University of Florida Digital Collections Archive To date, 90+ oral history podcasts are available on the University of Florida’s Digital Collections website, including final projects for internship classes, as well as the Summer 2013 seminar and original […]

Retired Faculty of UF Oral History Project Tells the Story of UF

In Spring 2014, SPOHP embarked on a new oral history collaboration with the Retired Faculty of the University of Florida (RFUF) to highlight the individuals who oversaw UF’s rise to a tier-1 institution. Retired faculty and administrators were asked to reflect on the reciprocal relationship between UF, the region, the state and the nation. This […]

Congratulations to Allison Mitchell, SPOHP’s Student Volunteer of the Quarter for Fall 2014!

Allison Mitchell, who was a volunteer for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program during the Fall 2014 Semester, is a second year dual major in History and African American Studies at the University of Florida. During this term she spent several hours filling in audio logs as well as transcribing. Allison learned about volunteering when […]

Documenting the Ethnic Studies Struggle through Oral History Field Work Trip: A Collaboration between Prescott College and the University of Florida

Press Release For Immediate Release Documenting the Ethnic Studies Struggle through Oral History Field Work Trip: A Collaboration between Prescott College and the University of Florida February 26, 2015, Throughout February 28 – March 8, 2015, students, staff and faculty from the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) at the University of Florida will be visiting […]

March 5 Tucson Ethnic Studies Research Trip Panel Event: “Documenting the Ethnic Studies Struggles through Oral History” at Prescott College

Press Release For Immediate Release February 13, 2015, On March 5, 2015 at the Western Institute for Leadership Development at 6:00pm Prescott College and Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida will present the panel Documenting the Ethnic Studies Struggles through Oral History: A Conversation between Prescott College and the University of […]

Spring 2015 Internship Class Podcasts (coordinated by Jessica Taylor and Kyle Bridge): Virginia Fieldwork in Folklore, Appalachian Social Change Project, Community organizing, and more

Spring 2015 interns produced podcasts on a variety of topics. Image from Jacksonville, Florida Wikipedia article. University of Florida Digital Collections Archive To date, 90+ oral history podcasts are available on the University of Florida’s Digital Collections website, including final projects for internship classes, as well as the Summer 2013 seminar and original SPOHP podcast series, released […]

UF School of Theatre and Dance Presents “Gator Tales” in February 2015 with Alachua County African American History Project

From February 13 to 22, the UF School of Theatre and Dance will perform a new drama entitled Gator Tales, an original play devised and directed by Professor Kevin Marshall in conjunction with the UF Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP). This is the first time that interviews from the SPOHP collection have been adapted […]

University Gallery at 50: The Roy Craven Legacy, Gallery Founder and Longest Standing Director

Digital Humanities Coordinator Deborah Hendrix produced an interview documentary on Roy’s Craven’s remarkable legacy for the 50th Anniversary Commemoration, taking place this January. The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program interviewed Roy Craven in 1992 about his career at the University of Florida for the university-wide oral history collection, currently archived with the interview UF-207 in the University of […]

College of Journalism and Communications Students Share Oral Histories with Visual Storytelling Web Applications

SPOHP Q&A

It only took an hour for College of Journalism and Communications undergrads taking part in an exercise during their Visual Journalism class to make history by setting a campus precedent: they were the first to ever create stories using visual storytelling web-based applications to share oral history interviews from the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s archives. The […]

Fall 2014 Internship Class Podcasts (coordinated by Jessica Taylor and Matthew Simmons): Veterans History

Fall 2014 interns produced podcasts on veterans history. Image from Stephen Dodd, donated to the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program. University of Florida Digital Collections Archive To date, 50+ oral history podcasts are available on the University of Florida’s Digital Collections website, including final projects for the entire Spring 2011, 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014 and Fall 2014, intern classes, […]

Podcasts Storifyed for Fall 2014 Visual Journalism Class

Students Elaine Sponholtz’s Visual Journalism class at the College of Journalism and Communications (JOU3220C) brought SPOHP podcasts to life using visual storytelling websites Storify, Exposure, and Storehouse in Fall 2014. “La Casita: A Story of the Latino Population at UF” by Kelcey Thomas using Exposure. “Women’s Roles During the Vietnam War” by Laura Cardona using Exposure, based […]