In celebration of the 60th Anniversary of Desegregation at the University of Florida, the George A. Smathers Libraries, The Center for Race and Race Relations, the Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center, and the A. Quinn Jones Museum & Cultural Center are coming together to showcase the role of Black educators who advanced social justice in the four decades preceding the Civil Rights Movement. Through teaching and hidden activism, Black educators cultivated and nurtured democracy from one-room schoolhouses to universities, and the courthouse.
Visit the exhibitions to learn more about activists such as Harry T. Moore —a leader in the Florida State Teachers Association –often described as the first martyr of the Civil Rights Movement. Encounter lesser-known figures, such as Edward Davis–the Ocala principal who led the battle for the Virgil Hawkins case that desegregated the University of Florida, and Gainesville’s own A. Quinn Jones, principal of Lincoln High School, who also played a pivotal role in the quest for equity long before Brown v. Board of Education.
The complementary exhibits are curated by Diedre Houchen, Ph.D. (Center for Race and Race Relations) and Florence M. Turcotte (Smathers Libraries).
Please join us on Tuesday, October 30th at 6:00 pm in Smathers Library, room 100 for the Welcome Reception. Michele Foster, Henry Heuser Jr Endowed Chair for Urban Education Partnerships and Professor, University of Louisville, the author of Black Teachers on Teaching will be speaking.
*Note- An online exhibition will be available on November 4th. You can also access more information on the project at Diedre Houchen’s website.
