Virtual Distinguished Speaker Series | The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean: Labor, Conservation, and Boundary Making from the Cayman Islands to Key West Thursday, February 4th, from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm In her talk "The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean: Labor, Conservation, and Boundary Making from the Cayman Islands to Key West," Sharika Crawford discusses the entangled histories of peoples and commodities that circulated across the greater Caribbean, which connected places like Key West to the Cayman Islands and…

VIRTUAL Distinguished Speaker Series | Afro-Caribbean Migration to Florida by Magdalena Lamarre Thursday, February 18th, from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm This program will examine the migration and settlement patterns of the various Afro-Caribbean peoples who made Florida their home and their contributions to its history and culture.  About the Presenter: Magdalena Lamarre was a Full Professor of History and Sociology at Miami Dade College until her retirement in 2016.  She earned a BA in History and Secondary Education from…

VIRTUAL Distinguished Speaker Series | The Legacy of Franklin Roosevelt’s WPA in Florida by David Schmidt Thursday, March 4, 2020, from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was one of FDR’s most wide-ranging, yet controversial programs. Many saw it as a “make work’ program that did not accomplish its goals—the acronym was derided as “We Piddle Around.” The evidence indicates that the program was far more successful and, even today, Floridians enjoy the buildings and constructions…