Attention UF students! We are now accepting applications for our Spring 2025 internship, HIS4944: Introduction to Oral History.
This 3-credit course meets weekly on Tuesdays from 1:55pm – 4:55pm.
Linguistics and SPOHP Awarded Digital Justice Grant
This grant from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) will deepen work started on an NEH grant, Reanimating African American Oral Histories of the Gulf South. We will focus on the oral histories of students within Putnam County, Florida who attended the first Black schools in Florida before integration.
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A Racial Reckoning in Gainesville
UF’s Ytori magazine highlights SPOHP’s Challenging Racism at UF initiative. “In oral history, we learn about the power of storytelling. This reveals truths that can sometimes be very uncomfortable,” SPOHP director Dr. Paul Ortiz told Ytori. “If we’re going to be a top-tier research institution, we need to use the tools of historical research to make the university a more welcoming place.”
“Interwoven Waters:” Using Oral History to Document Florida’s Waterways
Vasilios Kosmakos, SPOHP researcher and founder of the Florida Naturalist Project, curated a digital exhibit about the “story of water in Florida” for the Matheson Museum. Explore the exhibit here.
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Sharing the Underground Railroad’s Oral Histories
With a $350,000 federal grant, UF researchers will showcase recordings that tell how antislavery activists secretly assisted those escaping slavery.
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Oscar Mack versus the Ku Klux Klan
Two years after the Ocoee massacre, and one year before the destruction of Rosewood by a White mob, one Black man stood up to the Ku Klux Klan in Jim Crow Florida. Black WWI Veteran Oscar Mack received a federal appointment as Postmaster in Kissimmee. One hundred years later, interviews with Mack’s descendants reveal the true story.
Thank You!
The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) is thankful for all of the years and contributions that Ms. Hendrix continues to make to the program. Ms. Hendrix is an invaluable member of the SPOHP family. Without her hard work and support, SPOHP would not be where it is today. This piece by the Independent Florida Alligator recently featured Ms. Hendrix’s work.
Beyond the Headlines: Exploring Gainesville Sun’s Coverage of Race Relations from Reconstruction to the Present
Our first public event for the Challenging Racism at UF – 2023 Public Program Series was completed this past weekend in collaboration with the Cotton Club Museum. The cosponsored event by SPOHP and the Cotton Club Museum was a great success. To view the day’s proceedings, please click here.
Fieldwork Announcement: Eastern Pennsylvania, May 2023
In May of 2023, OGUS oral historians will visit eastern Pennsylvania communities to interview descendants of migrants from Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Imbros, Tenedos, and the islands in the Sea of Marmara. If you or anyone you know is interested in being interviewed, please fill in the interview scheduling form using the following link: https://ogus.portal.clas.ufl.edu/spohp-v2/welcome/contact-us/interview-scheduling/
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Fieldwork Announcement: Underground Railroad Project, Washington D.C. January 2023
UF students will represent SPOHP at the National Park Service in Washington D.C. to conduct interviews with descendants of conductors and freedmen this coming January. UF students will also visit the Harriet Tubman museum as part of the collaborative grant between the National Park Service and SPOHP.
Read more "Fieldwork Announcement: Underground Railroad Project, Washington D.C. January 2023"
