The SPOHP Podcast

On episode two of the Challenging Racism SPOHPcast, we talk with Adreanne Martinez about UF’s legacy of slavery, indigenous land dispossession, and incarcerated labor. Adreanne is a proud double Gator and a vehement student activist. On this episode we talk about the activism that led to an official report into African American and Native American history at the University of Florida which she co-authored. Listen while we talk with her about what that report and her experience in helping to write it. We also discuss how minority student enrollment and alumni engagement are affected by not acknowledging this legacy of racism.

This episode will examine how the University of Florida has challenged racism. The goal of this podcast series is to bring awareness to UF’s History and shine a light on the legacy of exclusion and racism on and around UF campus. This episode discusses the hatred of the Ku Klux Klan and the kidnapping and mutilation of Catholic priest Father John Connelly, and lastly, the Florida vs Boston College Football Game, where star running-back Lou Montgomery was forcefully benched. It is our hope that this podcast series will help amplify the often-ignored stories of minority communities at UF, in Florida, and across the nation.

Show Notes:

• Producers: Donovan Carter, Krystin Anderson, Sophia de la Cruz, Adolfho Romero, Montray Love

Credits:

• Thanks to SPOHP
• Music: Convex Crea-Butter Stone (https://app.sessions.blue)

Links/Additional Resources:

Marvelous Rodgers grew up in Winter Garden, Florida. In this podcast, she describes the pressure her father, a fruit contractor, was under to clear the fields, the help she provided her father in his work, and the distaste for oranges a life of smelling them constantly might produce. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

In this episode, we will be discussing final thoughts and hopes for the future of race relations at the University of Florida, focusing on Black voices on campus. Thank you for joining us on this racial justice journey through the Joel Buchanan Archives (JBA collection)!

Show Notes:

In this stand-alone episode, we introduce the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars (MFOS) Program and discuss the issues of inequity within higher education. You will hear from first-generation students who have participated in this program at UF as they discuss how MFOS has impacted them and their families' lives. Stay tuned for the upcoming SPOHP documentary sharing more of the inspiring stories from this program!

Show Notes:

In this episode, we will be discussing the current context of racism at the University of Florida, focusing on the new initiatives aimed at addressing and amending these issues.

Show Notes:

In this episode, we discuss student experiences with racial discrimination at the University of Florida, focusing on the experiences of Black students in particular. We highlight interviews from some of the first Black students to attend UF, those who struggled after, and the voices of today.

Show Notes:

In this episode, we discuss the history of professional discrimination at UF, focusing on the lived experiences and perspectives of Black faculty and staff. 

Show Notes:

• Producers: Jessica Alvarez and Alana Gomez, alanagomez@ufl.edu 

Credits: 

• Thanks to SPOHP and the people interviewed!
• Music: Moments by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com 

Links/Additional Resources:

In this episode, we discuss the hidden history of Black Thursday at UF and how many Black stories are left out of the narrative. Especially with no physical commemoration of the day on campus, it is important to keep the history of Black Thursday and the contribution of minority students alive in public memory and education.

Show Notes:

In this episode, we discuss the University of Florida’s connection to slavery, indigenous land, and racism.

Show Notes:

In this episode, we discuss the history of segregation within the Alachua County Public School system, as well as the process and impacts of integration, focusing on Lincoln High School in particular.

Show Notes:

In this episode we take a journey through the Civil Rights movement in North Florida, specifically in the cities of Tallahassee, St. Augustine, and Gainesville. Some important events we will touch on are the Tallahassee bus boycott and Florida Theatre protest in Tallahassee, the beach conflict in St. Augustine, and the general Civil Rights Movement in Gainesville, focusing on the everyday activism of community leaders.

Show Notes:

In this episode of the “Race and Remembrance” podcast, we continue discussing racial terror in 20th-century Florida, focusing on the Rosewood Massacre and the Ocoee Election Day Massacre.

Show Notes:

• Producers: Jessica Alvarez and Alana Gomez, alanagomez@ufl.edu
• Content warning timestamps: (3:56-5:03)

Credits:

In this episode of the “Race and Remembrance” podcast, we introduce the topic of racial terror, providing historical context and discussing violent events that occurred in 20th-century Florida, particularly the Newberry Six lynchings of 1916.

Show Notes:

• Content warning timestamps: (7:29-8:14) and (9:58-10:44)
• Producers: Jessica Alvarez and Alana Gomez, alanagomez@ufl.edu

Credits:

In this episode of the “Race and Remembrance” podcast, we introduce the University of Florida's Samuel Proctor Oral History program and its resources, as well as the plan for this podcast series centering on Black community voices discussing historical truths and their significance. In this episode, you will hear from Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, Ms. Sherry DuPree, Mr. Thomas Coward, and Dr. Patricia Stevens Due. Join us every Monday to hear a new episode from this series on the voices of the Joel Buchanan Archive!

Show Notes: 

"Community Action and Radio"

David Barsamian created Alternative Radio to cover important stories neglected by mainstream media. In this podcast, he explains why he first pursued broadcasting, and how journalism can continue to be a source of social change. Topics include Alternative Radio, broadcasting, Armenian genocide, and using journalism to hold the government accountable.

A podcast created for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program's Spring 2015 Intern Class by Virginia Hamrick.

Mireya Ledesma is one of eight children born to her farm laborer parents. In this podcast, she describes being looked down upon by other children for her parents’ occupations, the strange mix of shame and pride she felt in reaction, the responsibility she felt as the oldest daughter to help raise her younger siblings, and the ways in which farmworkers’ poor educations and the lack of informational outreach sometimes make it difficult for them to link health issues to pesticide exposure.  

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

In this interview, Sallie Harrison describes the beginnings of the women’s movement in Gainesville. Starting with her work in the presidential campaign of George McGovern, who was defeat by Richard Nixon in 1972, Harrison describes the connections between the women’s movement and the civil rights movement, her work to establish a rape crisis center and women’s health center in Gainesville and her daughter’s impact on her activism. Her powerful story captures the energy, optimism and courage of Gainesville’s first generation of radical women’s activists.

This podcast is also available on the University of Florida Digital Collections (UFDC) http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00020193/00001

A podcast created for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program's Spring 2015 Intern Class by Virginia Hamrick (SPOHP). Activist and founder of grass roots organization Cope Pink, Meada Benjamin explores the effects of police brutality on community organizing. Topics include: organizing and protesting, police relations, and the importance of citizen movements.

Full Interview is Cat. No. WAF 024 Medea Benjamin 11-6-2014, conducted by Derick Gomez and is part of the collection WAF (Women, Activists, Feminists)

It is available on the UFDC http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00029269/00001

Women, Activists, Feminists Collection at University of Florida Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.

This episode features a 1981 interview by Joel Buchanan interviewing Wilhelmina W. Johnson, who was a civil rights activist and a leading educator in Gainesville, Florida. Mrs. Johnson passed away in 1999. Copyrighted music by Therapy Shock, Courtesy of Public Room Records, and by the UF University Gospel Choir. Published as SPOHP's first podcast initiative project

Find this podcast on the UFD:   http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00020178/00001

Alachua County African American History Project, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Interview conducted by Joel Buchanan. Intro and Outro by Danielle Navarette.

Based on Cat. No. FAB 005A Wilhelmina Johnson 05-27-1981

A podcast created for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s Spring 2015 Intern Class. In this podcast, Linda Cottler discusses her research in classification of substance abuse around the world. After a successful career at Washington University at St. Louis spanning three decades, drug researcher Linda Cottler joined the University of Florida. In her words, her work gives “vulnerable populations…a voice in research” and aids the development of the recovery industry.

By James Wales

A SPOHP Podcast Series

Interview conducted and podcasted by James Wales. Intro and Outro by Denian Grant

Music: source not recorded.

Podcast based on SPOHP collection Addiction History Project. Cat. No. ADHP 008 Linda Cottler 3-31-2015

Also Available on the University of Florida Digital Collections, http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00031676/00001

For the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program's Spring 2013 Intern Class. This podcast explores the value of diversity at the University of Florida in Gainesville and the challenges facing the first African American students who integrated to integrate the college.

Edited by Emily Nyren and Kimberly Withum.

For full oral histories of which this podcast was created, see AAHP 041 Stephan Mickle 2-7-2009 and AAHP 046 Evelyn Marie Moore Mickle https://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00053909/00001

UFDC link to archived podcast: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00019974/00001

World War II, An African-American Man’s Perspective

For the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program’s Fall 2014 Intern Class. Sollie Mitchell discusses his diverse roles as a clerk, soldier, trainer, and supply person in an African-American unit stationed in the Pacific. After the service, Mitchell became a Pullman Porter and an extremely active member of the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters.

This podcast was created by Jasmine Reynolds

Interviews: Samuel Proctor Oral History Program Catalog Numbers: AAHP 357 Sollie Mitchell 9-26-2014

You may find the full interview on the UFDC using this link: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00066538/00001

The Mississippi Freedom Project (MFP) is an award-winning archive of hundreds of oral history interviews conducted with veterans of the civil rights movement and notable residents of the Mississippi Delta.

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program has an archive of 1000s of oral histories available through the University of Florida Libraries. The Mississippi Freedom Project, or MFP, is an important part of that collection. In 2008, a vanload of students traveling to the heartland of the Civil Rights Movement, the Mississippi Delta recorded the first of the oral histories of the Mississippi Freedom Project. In later years, trips would expand to include Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana. The result is 100s of oral histories, all unique narratives that can be found no place else.

We invite you to listen and especially ponder, stories of activism, courage, and sometimes humor featured in these student-produced podcasts of the Mississippi Freedom Oral History Project. The Mississippi Freedom Project like all the collections of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, can be found in the University of Florida Digital Collections at the University of Florida.

Written and produced by Steven Houston

Created from Oral History Catalog Number MFP 181 Joseph Smith 6-27-2014, interviewed by Steven Houston.

In this episode, Joseph Smith reflects on the terror and uncertainty facing members of the Civil Rights Movement in 1964. He also discusses the role that resident Mississippians like Fannie Lou Hamer played in giving activists courage and support.

Samuel Proctor ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

PO Box 115215  240 Pugh Hall • UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA • 352-392-7168

In this podcast, activist Leroy Bell argues that four landfills, a sewage treatment plant, and a medical waste treatment plant are ravaging the environment and population of Apopka, Florida, and, importantly, that there are deep ties between the placement of these environmental offenders and the large concentration of African Americans in Apopka. Bell hopes that by illuminating the links between medical issues, including learning disabilities, low birth weight and high infant mortality, cancer, bronchitis, and heart failure, quality of life issues such as the constant and oppressive presence of insects and the overwhelming stenches associated with landfills and treatment plants, and a seemingly racist disregard for the wishes of the African American community in Apopka, he can draw enough public awareness to spur changes on the political level. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Johanna Collins was born in Orlando, Florida but has lived in Apopka, Florida since moving there in the second grade. In this podcast, she describes her feelings of disappointment regarding the development of Apopka, as well as American society more generally. Topics include gun violence, “Stand Your Ground” laws, and education.  

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Fernando Cuevas, Sr. worked as a migrant farm laborer in Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan before becoming National Vice President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee in 1979. In this podcast, he speaks about his life of fighting injustice, from the time his family had to stop him from assaulting a farmer who had kicked his grandfather on the job to organizing picket lines and marches throughout the Midwest.

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Originally from a Minnesota small rural town, Bill and Jean Heltemes talk about their lives and how they came to St. Patricks Catholic Church in Gainesville, Florida. They talk about what it means to be a part of the church, and how that leads to feel strongly connected to the community.

This podcast and the interview from which it was created was conducted by Joe Vega. The graphic was made by Anthony Delgado.

Music: Music Attribute to be added as information is received.

Interviews: SPOHP catalog numbers CNCF 015 Jean and Bill Heltemes 11-26-2020.

During the Fall 2020 semester, SPOHP interns interviewed members of the Catholic community in North Central Florida, as part of the Catholic institutions of North Central Florida (CNCF) project. From the interviews they conducted, interns created podcast episodes to present the perspectives and experiences of their narrators. The focus of this episode is the importance of faith during life challenges. Thank you to the narrators included in this podcast, as well as all of those who recorded their stories for the CNCF project.

This podcast and the interviews within it were conducted by Carson Olson and Tyler Vazquez. The graphic was made by Anthony Delgado.

CNCF. Catholic Institutions of North Central Florida Podcast Series.

During the Fall 2020 semester, SPOHP interns interviewed members of the Catholic community in North Central Florida, as part of the Catholic institutions of North Central Florida (CNCF) project. From the interviews they conducted, interns created podcast episodes to present the perspectives and experiences of their narrators. The focus of this episode is Catholic education and community. Thank you to the narrators included in this podcast, as well as all of those who recorded their stories for the CNCF project.

This podcast and the interviews within it were conducted by Emma Donnelly and Jessica Alvarez. The graphic was made by Anthony Delgado.

Miguel Zelaya is a veteran farmworker and pesticide safety instructor for the Farmworkers Association in Apopka, Florida. In this mostly Spanish-language podcast, Zelaya discusses how his personal experiences with toxic exposure in the workplace has inspired his career in workplace education, the direct links between income and education and access to healthcare and fair working conditions, and how the struggle for farmworkers’ rights is deeply related to the larger immigrants’ rights movement in the United States. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Gainesville Coffee Communities & the COVID-19 Pandemic

Coffee shops serve as important social spaces within our community. However, with social distancing and other safety precautions, the COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of social interaction, especially in businesses serving food and drinks. For this podcast, virtual interviews were conducted with local coffee business owners and managers in Gainesville, Florida, to understand how the pandemic had affected their businesses and the communities of coffee-drinkers within them. Thank you to all participants who recorded their stories for this podcast. Also, thank you to Dr. Catherine Tucker and her “Coffee Culture” course for inspiring this project.

This podcast and the interviews within it were conducted by Emma Donnelly. The podcast graphic was created using Canva.

Sister Gail Grimes was born in Philadelphia and joined the religious community of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur after graduating high school. In this podcast, she describes being called to service in Apopka, Florida by the Orlando bishopric, the unique organization of the Sisters’ efforts in Apopka, and the main issues facing farmworkers, and African Americans in particular, throughout her time in Apopka.  Interview conducted and podcasted by .

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

The Mississippi Freedom Project (MFP) is an award-winning archive of hundreds of oral history interviews conducted with veterans of the civil rights movement and notable residents of the Mississippi Delta.

The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program has an archive of 1000s of oral histories available through the University of Florida Libraries. The Mississippi Freedom Project, or MFP, is an important part of that collection. In 2008, a vanload of students traveling to the heartland of the Civil Rights Movement, the Mississippi Delta recorded the first of the oral histories of the Mississippi Freedom Project. In later years, trips would expand to include Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana. The result is 100s of oral histories, all unique narratives that can be found no place else.

We invite you to listen and especially ponder, stories of activism, courage, and sometimes humor featured in these student-produced podcasts of the Mississippi Freedom Oral History Project. The Mississippi Freedom Project like all the collections of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, can be found in the University of Florida Digital Collections at the University of Florida.

Written and produced by Anna Armitage.

Music • Selfish by Theevs • Artlist.io

Oral History Catalog Number MFP 071C Reverend Dr. Alan Bean and Nancy Bean 9-02-2012, interviewed by Jessica Taylor.

In this episode, Dr. Alan Bean and his wife Nancy Bean challenge the narrative that claims that the Civil Rights Movement ended in 1968. Instead, it connects the Civil Rights Movement to continuing racial inequalities that persist today as a result of institutionalized violence such as immigration restrictions and mass incarceration.

Samuel Proctor ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

PO Box 115215  240 Pugh Hall • UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA • 352-392-7168

Marie Francois came to the United States from Haiti in 1997 with her husband and a medical degree. She did not pass the American medical boards, but found a new purpose in activism and educational outreach regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. In this podcast, she describes her efforts to combat many of the myths and taboos surrounding STDs and to organize farmworkers and their children in the organization Students Against Drugs and Aids (SADA). 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Betty Dubose worked in the farms of Apopka from childhood until they closed in 1998. In this podcast, she describes the process of working with the other farmworkers and the adverse health effects she has suffered from being inundated with pesticides, including diabetes, back problems, and heart issues.  

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Linda Lee was born in 1952 and spent the better part of that decade and the next working on the farms of Apopka, Florida. In this podcast, she describes being caked in muck from muckstorms, the lack of drinking water on the job, being crop-dusted with pesticides while working, and a special project in which she creates memorial quilts chronicling the lives of those who have died to pesticide-induced illnesses. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

In this podcast, “Florida Bob” Griffin describes his life as a farmworker from Apopka, Florida. Topics include his blind father, who was nonetheless a successful crew leader, his childhood picking beans to help support his family and purchase school clothes, and his time moving between New York to pick apples and Florida to pick oranges. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Yesica Ramirez and her family moved to the United States in 2000 with the hopes of earning enough money to build a house to return to in their home town of Michoacán, Mexico. Yesica has been in the states ever since, isolated by language barrier to her job, family, and church. In this podcast, with the help of an interpreter, she describes her life in the United States, including this isolation, which extends even to her own children, as they know English, go to school, and bring back homework with which she cannot help them, as well as the lack of healthcare options facing immigrant workers. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Earma Peterson was born in Crescent City, Florida in 1930 and had 14 children and over 100 grandchildren. In this podcast, she describes her life working on the farms of Apopka, Florida in order to support her family and tells a little of the history of her grandfather, who was killed for building a school and a church for slaves. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Geraldean Matthew worked as a migrant farmworker throughout the United States before settling in Florida and landing a job as an advocate for farmworkers’ rights. In this podcast, she discusses advocating for better housing, better wages, and healthcare for farmworkers as well as a few of the troubles she has experience in trying to turn legislators’ attentions to farmworkers’ issues. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Interview conducted and podcasted by Michael Ruckstuhl. Intro and Outro by Grace Chun.

Carol Johnson grew up in Apopka, Florida and worked in the orange groves and packinghouses from fifth grade through her college graduation. In this podcast, she discusses migrant farm work, the health issues her mother and other farmworkers suffered from prolonged exposure to pesticides, dealing with segregation, and the important role education plays in transcending social and economic status. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Because she and other African American children were bussed out of town for high school, Rossie Thomas’s school days ran from “‘dark-thirty’ to ‘dark-thirty’” leaving her to read tattered, hand-me-down textbooks and complete assignments by lamplight at night. In this podcast, Thomas discusses this period in her life as well as other experiences in education in the segregated South. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Johnnie Mae Byers, born and raised in Apopka, Florida, was pulled out of school after the second grade to help support her family by working the muck farms and orange groves of the area. In this podcast, she discusses the harsh conditions of such work, including the physical strains of climbing, picking and carrying heavy loads, and exposure to both heat and pesticides. 

Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series

Welcome to Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series. SPOHP is the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. Check out the SPOHP Podcast Intro episode for background info on SPOHP if you are new. 

As part of the 2013 summer internship course, students conducted interviews with the Farmworker Association of Florida or FWAF for short. The FWAF is a statewide, grassroots, community-based, non-profit, farmworker membership organization with over 10,000 members. They have a 35 year history of working for social and environmental justice with farmworkers. Their long-standing mission is to build power among farmworker and rural low-income communities, to respond to and gain control over the social, political, economic, workplace, health, and environmental justice issues that impact their lives. With these interviews, the student interns created these podcast episodes to showcase their stories.

Welcome to the SPOHP Podcast presented by the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. This episode was made to give a little background info on what you can look forward to from this podcast. Thank you for listening! SPOHP, one community, many voices. 

This episode was produced by Grace Chun. 

In collaboration with the Farmworkers Association of Florida