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Brown Bag Lunch with Liz Coursen, “Shade in the Sunshine State” Reflections on Segregation in Florida
April 17, 2014 @ 11:45 am - 1:30 pm
Presented in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, “Shade in the Sunshine State: Reflections on Segregation in Florida” is a conversation based on the book by the same name by Sarasota author and historian Liz Coursen.
After touching on America’s pre-1920s history, “Shade” will combine contemporaneous ephemera—postcards, city directories, photographs—with first-person stories from Floridians who remember just what it was like to live in a segregated “Sunshine State.” Material will include information about Florida’s Rosenwald Schools, late-1950s efforts to integrate Miami-Miami Beach restaurants, the Ft. Lauderdale “wade-ins” of 1961, the sometimes violent protests in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, and excerpts from Alas Babylon, Pat Frank’s celebrated 1959 sci-fi novel set in central Florida.
The purpose of “Shade” is to demonstrate that no matter how far we may very well have to come to ensure equal rights for all Americans, there is no doubt we’ve come a long, long, long way in 50 years. The program is appropriate for all ages, and begins at 11:45 a.m. in Room 105 Keene-Flint Hall.
www.shadeinthesunshinestate.com
Elizabeth Huntoon Coursen
941-706-2463/lizinsarasota@yahoo.com