Historical Perspective

This semester is moving along. I have the first exam to grade, a search committee to get through, and worries about next academic years to consider. Despite all of that, I'm gonna drop in on the Daily Buzz tomorrow and give some input on the Chris Matthews issue and the state of African-American marriage. Morning shows are perfect for inviting you and giving you just enough time for a soundbite. Still, as a friend one said to me, "You gotta take the information to the people."

In the case of the African-Americans and marriage, it a complicate problem. The fact of the matter is that marriage in the United State is not what it use to be. The societal restriction against divorce has lessen and as a result couples divorce at higher rates. When you factor in race, the numbers get worst, especially for African-Americans. Yet, the factor related to African-Americans marriage are not all unique to the black community. Since the 1960s, social commentators have pointed to female-head household as failure of the black family.

The causes and consequences single-family household are complicated. Conservatives point to disincentive associated with marriage and general family created by social welfare program. On the other hand, de-industrialization, suburbanization, and crime have led to problems as varied as high incarnation rate for African-American males to low educational achievement. This means young black men are not available to wed during prime marriage age. Added to that, the number of African-American men who drop out of school means there is an education deficit that affected social and economic opportunity. Consider the factors women use (regardless of race) when considering marriage: security and prospect of long terms support. In both cases African-American males often fail in the lowest percentile of any measure. Education also broadens the world view, which adds to possibility of marrying outside your racial group and pushes the median marriage age up. These factors combine to force African-American women to search longer for a suitable mate.

African-American Middle-class women (who tend not to marry outside their race) are further marginalize by stereotypes of beauty and behavior that continue to be produced by popular media. All these factors lead to troubling marriage pattern for African-Americans. Both Working-class and Middle-class African-Americans suffer from the cascading issues that undermine traditional marriage. The problem is amplified by media coverage that conflate issues related to class and race to individual moral failing and/or absence of personal responsibility.

I'm not going to solve the problem with two minute segments, but maybe I can try to clarify some of these issues.

Synergistic Flow

What do historians do exactly? It is a good question. One hundred years ago, you ask people about what historians do, they would give you a straight answer. Now, you ask me what a historian does and it is a little fuzzy. This problem (if you want to call it that) doesn't usually bother me, but in the Spring I get to deal with it head on. Every spring I'm tasked with teaching the History Department capstone course. It is the last course you every take as a history major (it suppose to be at least). The students, in victims senioritis, want to know "What do I need to do in that class?" My answer never satisfies them and to be honest....I don't worry about it. If they can't roll with the punches at this point.....life will be unpleasant. Still, I do have goals. First, I want them to tell me what a historian does. It is not an easy answer. Is History a Social Science or Humanities? History has evolved a great deal in the twentieth century, depending on your Master (sorry adviser), you look a little social science or a little humanities or a little of both. Second question, what have you (as a graduating senior) learned as a history major. No, I don't mean the facts. They didn't really learn historical facts (they did, but it not like they can rattle that off). No, I think the History Department want graduating seniors to be able to think and act with certain tools at their disposal. If they are graduating they have the tools, but it likely they have never actually processes the fact...this is how I deal with a problem. This is my process of information analysis and presentation. In the capstone...they kinda sit down and go, "Yes ,I do this and then this, and this is why I do it that way." Third, and this is a really me pushing it. I kinda want see a little synergistic flow. Yeah, they are given the change to pull things together... make presentations...pull this idea from that class and this idea from over here and maybe remember something from econ or English, or Antho or some service learning project or something they saw studying abroad and it all means.........something. At least, it suppose to to mean whatever they manage to argue in a clear and orderly way. Still, they will feel unhappy, they got to the end and here I am...messing with them.

Pray for the History Seniors. Pray they Survive.

Thanksgiving Reflections: African-Americans and Autonomy

The semester has been busy, so this year's thanksgiving is a welcomed break. As I think about ongoing work and plan for next semester, I realize that one theme comes through--the unique experience of African-Americans in Florida. As one faculty out of many concerned about Florida as prism to understand the American experience (and I mean the Americas, not the United States alone), I keep seeing unique links between the Florida experience and how we understand the past. Case in point, Thanksgiving!! Dr. Michael Gannon, of course long ago pointed out the first thanksgiving celebration took place in Florida. A story he shared when he visited the college in April and received the Alfred J. Hanna Award in recognition of his long career and work. I'm not going to step into that hornet nest, but it reminded me, as I attempt not to over eat, that the Florida experience is different.

This semester several departments on campus as getting together to support and participate in programs and discussions about Zora Neale Hurston. As many of you likely know, Eatonville, FL hosts the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities. The festival, celebrates Hurston's life and work. The festival in 2010 is unique in that it marks the 50 year anniversary of Hurston's death. For Rollins's this is a unique opportunity to explore our relationship with Hurston. While others may stress their interest in the Hurston, the fact of the matter is that Rollins has a real and important place in Hurston's life.

Considered one of the most important writers of the African-American experience in the twentieth century, Hurston’s work is closely linked to the African-American cultural and intellectual invigoration associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston wrote two books of folklore and four novels using her training as an anthropologist and extensive fieldwork as a foundation. While it is not well known today, in 1932, Professor Edwin Osgood Grover and Professor Robert Wunsch helped Hurston develop her ideas about folk theater. While teaching and working at the college, she wrote and staged From Sun to Sun (1933) and All De Live Long Day (1935), both of which, explore southern work culture. The Olin Archive's Zora Neale Hurston Collection contains archival letters related to these events. Moreover, Rollins was and continues to be an institution interested in promoting dialogue. As the program for the Interfaith and Race Relations Committee listed above suggests.

Hurston's renewal, driven by writers like Alice Walker and media tycoons like Oprah Winfrey has made her a cottage industry. Yet, some of the most interesting parts of Hurston's story are often overlooked. Her time at Rollins is one example, but her conservatism is another. One thing, I hope that comes from the projects we are planning right now is a better understanding of how Hurston, a product of an all black community, could be resistance to the integration message associated with modern civil rights movement. I know from oral history and primary document research that the black communities in Florida felt a great sense of pride. That holiday celebrations, such as Thanksgiving were a time for families to come together and celebrate their good fortune. Indeed, communities like Eatonville and Hannibal Square in Winter Park had much to be thankful about. Self-governed and containing a large number of property owners, these all black communities provided security and protection for African-Americans in the later nineteenth century, a time when rising anti-black violence and political disenfranchisement was crippling black autonomy from its heights durng Reconstruction. Hurston always express great pride and rejected any suggestion that somehow African-Americans were not equal to whites. Indeed, her literary legacy is an investigation of black belief and black thought that practically omits whites. She has been branded a conservative, but is this conservatism is the classic sense that historians have used to describe schism within the black community? I think Hurston's story offers a more complex narrative about what it means to be African-American in the late nineteenth century. Part of that story I believe is a story of Florida's frontier status, the independents that existed in state and was enjoyed by its residents. Am I suggest, lesser racism in Florida? No, the strange case of the detachment and annexiation of the Hannibal Square proves that the politics of race in Florida was and continues to be a powerful force. Nonetheless, the flexibility offered by unsettled space and the power gained by creating community is a worthy topic to consider.

History and the World

This semester Dr. Yusheng Yao is teaching in Shanghai, China. Rollins, as you probably know, has strong historical and contemporary links to China. The China Center at Rollins works to promote cross cultural learning. Dr. Yao has been on the forefront of these activities at Rollins teaching about China for the History Department since his arrival. One of his most popular courses is HIS 212/212F A Journey to the Middle Kingdom, field study that takes students to China.



Get more information about international travel opportunity by contacting the Office of International Programs and look for more field study opportunities coming from the Department of History in the future.

The Social in History

The irony of summer vacation for an academic is that you "work" more during the summer on certain projects than you do during the year. This summer, I have spent some time honing my oral history skill with a workshop sponsored by the Maitland Historical Society (MHS). The MHS sponsored a NIH approved certification program for oral history techniques. I have done some training, but new regulations are always being created. The NIH certification is important part of making sure I know the rules and regulation governing oral history projects. The workshop was great and I got a chance to use my new and hopefully improved skills to conduct an oral interview with a Maitland resident this week. Louise Franklin, the subject of my interview, is from one of the pioneer African-American families in Central Florida. Her parents, Larkin and Effie Franklin purchased land in Maitland in the early 1900s. The ten acre parcel they purchased on Lake Sibila became a focal point for the African-American community in Eatonville and Maitland. Louise Franklin, the youngest living member of the Franklin family, expresses great pride in the fact that her family retains control of the property today. Their home is a bit of living history, the trees on the property were planted by Ms. Franklin's father and you can see evidence of the effort he made to make his property a center of community life. As a large landowner, he opened his home to his neighbors in times of celebration and emergency. The Franklin family story challenges the traditional narrative of African-American life in the deep south. Rather than a story of landless desperate African-Americans at the mercy of the white majority, the Franklins owned property, educated their children, and served as pillar of their community. Their home serve as center of activity for holiday celebrations and with a basement, the Franklin home was the community's shelter from harsh Florida storms. Larkin Franklin worked as chauffeur for the mayor of Maitland, but he was maximized his land value planting oranges and other crops. The Franklin family history does not discount the problems faced by African-Americans, indeed their success was built on a rural Florida where black and white interaction was tightly controlled. The Franklin worked in the white society, but lived in a black world. Central Florida African-American community developed with small overall population, punishing climate, and lack of infrastructure acting as barriers to interaction that might lead to violence. Nonetheless, violence was a concern, especially for those African-Americans that dared to challenge Jim Crow rule. Understanding the Franklin family story broadens our understanding of how black life in Central Florida developed.

More stories to come.

A Hundred Years Later: Our Link to the NAACP

The U.S. Senate's passage of a resolution apologizing for slavery and of course the 100th anniversary of the founding of the NAACP give me reason to focus on African-American history. The fact we have an African-American president in 2009 and the Senate passed a resolution saying, "Sorry about that slavery thing...." can't be unconnected. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was created in 1909 and driven by the desire for the immediate achievement of African-American political, economic, and social rights. Of course, as the best known, and in some circles, most respected civil rights organization in the United States, this anniversary should and is important. Perhaps it is more important in 2009 because some observers are asking themselves, "Is the NAACP still needed?" The question is misguided, but worth thinking about. The case for the end of the NAACP is obvious. There is a African-American president, one elected by the majority of U.S. citizens. If this is possible, we must have "solved" our race problems. These comments have some merit. Indeed, if we could talk to the group that founded the NAACP in 1909, I think some of them would feel the NAACP had accomplished much of what it wanted to achieve. I know, bold words, but given that one founding member of the NAACP was Hamilton Holt, we can judge from his writing and comments what his hopes were in terms of race relations. Holt's work as editor of the Independent, a liberal weekly prior to becoming college president made it clear he believed that race should not be used as barrier to opportunity. His support for racial equality in the pages of the Independent continued as college president. His decision to give Mary McLeod Bethune an honorary degree in 1949 challenged southern racism. Yet, Holt's thinking about race did not and could not take into account structural barriers left behind from Jim Crow segregation. While we no longer have "separate but equal" as a standard, we have a legacy of race base thinking that diminishes all Americans.

The hope that race no longer plays a role in defining the lives of American citizens is worthwhile goal. Reaching a moment in time where race is neutral factor in people's live will mean that we have let go prejudices and beliefs that marginalize people of color. The problem is that race continues to define lives of many Americans in ways that have been documented by cold hard statics on hiring, wealth creation, and access to basic service and my random event like the arrest of well known black Harvard professor like Henry Louis Gates. The belief that African-American spend too much time speaking about race, a comment that emerged several time over the last few weeks. It is an easy comment for white commentators. The reality, often ignored by conservative critics, is that African-American must think about race because they face the negative effects from racism, while White people never need to think about the positive effect that come from whiteness.

The goal of a post-racial society, where racial identity doesn't effect perception or opportunity is far from a reality. If that is the case, a civil right organization like the NAACP still has some role in society. Whether or not the NAACP current agenda is the right one is a better question to ask. Fighting the battles that you fought a hundred years ago is not going to win the war. Indeed, if we consider the problem facing African-Americans: access to education, chronic unemployment, the effect of drugs(crime related to drugs)and chronic health concerns. We see that a more complex and nuisance approach to understanding how race affects African-American life is needed. Case in point, the Henry Louis Gate incident. Some people will say the policeman was racist. Indeed, the police in Cambridge have a history of defending themselves against charges of racial profiling. Gates' reaction will also be put on trial. Did he overreact to the police answering a call about a possible crime? For my part, I want someone to interview the "neighbor" who forgot she lived next door to one of the most famous African-American intellectuals alive today!?!?!


There is no question race played a part in the incident, but not in ways that are cut and dry. No doubt the officer, face with a possible crime, needed to be sure of Gates' identity. As an expert on racial profiling he will never admit color might has effected his actions. Nor will observers agree that Gates had a right to demand the officer badge number and name (something he did have the right to ask) For Gates, the implication that his civil rights were being violated by a police officer and his determination to assert his rights (something African-American have not been able to do for much of the country's history) added to a tense situation. Would a white guy have gotten angry about this incident? The answer is probably yes. Would the white guy have been arrested? The answer to that is probably no. This incident only matters because it was a white officer and black man. Two white guys or two black guys would not have been a media moment. Indeed, the media moment represents the reality of race. White observers feel frustrated that they have elected an African-American president and yet, they are still being called racist. African-Americans are frustrated that the real problems associated with race has never been acknowledged or dealt with in a systematic way. The NAACP will point to the problem of racial profiling and talk about the problem of minorities facing undue attention from the police. Yet, the dialogue about race, power, and opportunity in the United States remains just over the horizon. The reality of an African-American president make this dialogue more likely, but other pressing national problems stand in the way. In the meantime, I think we can expect a low-level simmer on the race question as the United States struggles to find a balance between silence and truth about the importance of race in the American experience.

July 16, 1969

The anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon is this month. While there is some question about the future of the current space program. There is something to be learned from taking a moment to remember how much was accomplished with the Apollo Space Program. Twelve men walked on the moon beginning in 1969. The technical problems associated with getting to the moon are almost forgotten today. The fact of the matter is the smartphones we used everyday have more computing power than the computer used in the space program. While that seems amazing, it only represents the tip of the iceberg when we consider also every technical detail involving going to the moon was conceived and quasi-perfected between May 25, 1961 when President John F. Kennedy gave his memorable speech in front of Congress and July 1969 when the landing actually took place. Kennedy's proclamation had everything to do with the politics of the Cold War. Indeed, without the specter of the U.S.S.R reaching the moon first--its unlikely we would have committed the money to the space program. Critics then, and critics today, are quick to point out more hard science can be done with unmanned vehicles and the cost associated with keeping a person alive in space make manned flight a waste. Indeed, the dangers associated with space flight are well known. In the Apollo Program the death of the Apollo 1 crew: Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee marked the first example of the danger when they died testing Apollo systems. In recent times, the Challenger explosion and the loss of the Columbia have reminds Americans space exploration is risky. These dangers however, are not the real barrier to exploring space. Today, the cost question represents the most powerful challenge to space exploration. However, historically the question is not new. Even as men walked on the moon, protest over Vietnam, urban race riots, and rising social tension cause many people to question the wisdom of spending money on the space program. Today, in the midst of a massive economic downturn, people are once again asking why spend money on a space program? NASA to it credit, has played the politics of budgets as well as any government body, but they have always been fighting a loosing battle. Nixon began cutting the space program when he came into office and every president since Nixon has had questions about spending money on NASA's budget. Indeed, there are always plenty of people worried about the our national debt and those people look at the manned space program and say cut it. Given the challenges, plenty of people, especially observers in Florida are looking beyond the government to help keep the dream of exploring space alive. The idea of a commercial space program to fill the gap is interesting. Whether or not private corporations going into space grows into the business advocate hope for is a question. Another key question is whether or not this commercial space business will be in Florida. Florida is linked to the space program and because of that connection we hear more about funding problem and economic impact of space program than most communities. In case you haven't notice, fears about the end of the shuttle program and what will happen while the Orion capsule is made ready to fly are in the news regularly. One things that give me hope is that while politicians aren't traditionally concerned about long term science issues (hard to get elected saying this will pay off in 20 years) they are concerned about appearance and they are reactionary. Given those facts, the specter of the rise of China as a space-faring nation might translate into continued health for NASA. The trick will be to avoid the militarization of space, something that we have been struggling with since the 1950s. The case for a manned space program can be made, but it needs to be made at every level. We don't hear a lot about space in school and unless there is trouble, you don't hear about it in the news. NASA's efforts to raise awareness about the benefits of space are pretty weak. It's a shame because NASA is the place where breakthrough in solar power, recycling, environmental engineering, and material science can happen the fastest. Just look at the Apollo program, the innovations created there are still affecting our lives today. President Obama's desire to create a new green economy works in favor of the space program and the fact the infrastructure associated with NASA is already up and running make it hard to say the program will disappear. Still, looking back at the Apollo moon landing remind us to consider what a U.S. space program can accomplish with big goals that push our imagination.

Golden Personalities: Rollins and Digital History

The summer is suppose to be a time of sitting lounging by the pool. Not so much for academics, I have been working on this project and that project since classes ended. As I mentioned before I am putting together the tenure review file. With that 90% done I have more time to spend on my summer collaborative research project. Rollins has a Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Program that take places every summer. This summer, I'm working with Wenxian Zhang, the head of Rollins archive on a project called Golden Personalities. Our goal is to create a web-based biographical listing of important early town settlers and College teachers, benefactors, and notables. The project is great example of digital history. Our students utilize the archive's resources to write these short profiles. Wenxian and the Olin Library Archive have been at the cutting edge of digitalization for years. Rollins has a extensive digital archive that provides photos and documents about the college, Winter Park, and wider region. This project will give us a chance to explore the lives of a diverse group, including African-Americans that current students, faculty, and staff have little knowledge. So far, the project has been going well. Students have completed profiles on subjects such as , Gus C. Henderson, Franklin Fairbanks, Loring Chase, Charles H. Morse and Alonzo W. Rollins to name a few. Overall, I think we will cover more than 70 individual from the early history of Rollins College and Winter Park. As always, work in the archive reveals thing you didn't expect. I think this project will be learning process for everyone.

MORE TO COME..........

Review of Reviews: The African-American Experience

I'm stuck in the midst of the "reviews of reviews" and have everything to do. Still it is a time of reflection and as I consider theory and practice in small ways and big--I see what I have done and can still do. The upside is, it occurs to me, I've done a lot! The downside is, it occurs to me, I haven't done as much as I would like:( Case in point, public history projects, of which I have a few, haven't developed fully into the forms I think necessary to provide the information to the wider community. Not to say things haven't been done, they have, but they need to look and feel better. I was talking to Vidhu Aggrawal about the next issue of her journal SPECS. SPECS is a world class publication done with small budget and staff. By comparison, I could do better. I have been thinking about it. The key is to create some sort of mechanism to standardize content and style. This mechanism (whatever it may be) will allow work done my students and faculty to be presented in clean and organized way. There is plenty to explore and once I get it working I think the public will be interested. For me, Central Florida offers a unique story about Gilded Age and Progressive Era, African-American experience, and Art and Culture in the twentieth century. As the coordinator of the Africa and African-American Studies Program, I am of course interested in getting students and the public exploring that history. The fact that Winter Park was designed with the assumption that African-Americans would live west of the railroad tracks and work in white community as support staff created a unique opportunity for a stable and in some ways, very prosperous black community to develop. I think you can see a strong connection between Hannibal Square in West Winter Park and the other more famous black community in Central Florida, Eatonville. Eatonville is famous because of Zora Neale Hurston, but of course, Zora had a unique relationship with Winter Park through the support provided to her by members of the Rollins College English Department. Indeed, the Olin Library Archive at Rollins has a Zora Neale Hurston collection that highlight the link between the author and the college. Still, a bigger question of autonomy and agency needs to be explored in the Central Florida area. I think the effect of leisure economy and Florida's existence as a frontier space allowed for greater sense of freedom for African-Americans in communities like Hannibal Square and Eatonville. Of course Jim Crow racism existed, the story of Hannibal Square's detachment from the town of Winter Park as way to undermine African-American Republican voters testifies to the power of white supremacy in Florida. Yet, the family history collection on display at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center demonstrates that African-Americans found ways to continue to function and thrive.


MORE TO DO