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The conference gathered some of the state\u2019s best writers, researchers and artists, who covered important topics that included the relevancy of humanities in the age of technology, demystification of some of Florida\u2019s history \u2014 which sadly includes a dose of racial injustice \u2014 the state\u2019s environmental challenges and a glimpse of the arts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Florida is a great state and these are some of the most renowned scholars who share the same passion for the state\u2019s humanities,\u201d\u00a0 said Senior Professor and author Gary Monroe, who was the brainchild of the symposium.<\/p>\n
After a customary welcome, Steven Seibert, Executive Director of the Florida Humanities Council explained how the Humanities and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), rather than being in conflict, are mutually enriching. Seibert emphasized that today\u2019s employers seek a workforce that combines both digital and skills associated with the study of liberal arts and the Humanities, such as the ability to communicate, knowing team work and critical thinking.<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s history took center stage at the Symposium and provided its most dramatic moment during the presentation of Fort Pierce historian and author Jean Ellen Wilson. Upon embarking on a study of the area\u2019s African-American community during the Jim Crow years, she discovered the lynching of Estes Wright. Her account of what transpired in Fort Pierce Sept. 14-16, 1935 were harrowing. The intimidation by law enforcement and the Ku Klux Klan kept this story quiet and those details were no less troubling.\u00a0 The conference\u2019s dramatic moment occurred when Wilson invited Estes\u2019 surviving children to come up to the stage.\u00a0 His son. Clarence Wright, offered heartfelt words that still bore the scars that Florida\u2019s history of racial inhumanity leaves on flesh and blood.<\/p>\n
Conservation Photographer, John Moran and Creative Director Rick Kilby dealt with the environment during their presentations. Kilby alluded to the spiritual nature of Florida\u2019s springs and raised a red flag over the environmental problems they are currently facing. Nevertheless, it was Moran\u2019s 30-year photographic testimony of the environmental deterioration of the state\u2019s water resources that erased any doubts of the neglect and abuse that they have been subjected to.<\/p>\n
More alarming than the photos was Mr. Moran\u2019s account of the response he gets from state authorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey seem to know the cost of everything but the value of nothing,\u201c he told the audience.<\/p>\n
He said his photographic evidence is rejected by the Legislature, while texts submitted by lobbyists to rewrite environmental laws are accepted. Without public outcry, the state\u2019s future generations run the risk of an economic disaster caused by disappearing tourism and insufficient clean water.<\/p>\n
The common thread among presentations dealing with Florida\u2019s history was correcting misperceptions, debunking myths and overcoming prejudices.<\/p>\n
Dr. Ben Brotemarkle, Executive Director of the Florida Historical Society, explained how the Windover Archeological Site in Brevard County changed perceptions of Florida history. Kilby debunked Ponce de Leon myths about the Fountain of Youth and showed how people\u2019s natural desire for rebirth and new beginnings is still is being exploited.<\/p>\n
Arts and entertainment editor and author Cathy Salustri took issue with the perception that President Roosevelt\u2019s Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps were handouts, showing that they really rescued a devastated depression-era economy. She also mentioned the Federal Writer\u2019s Project and how Zora Neal Hurston was never offered an editorial role in the guide because she was an African-American woman. East Coast Railway historian and author Seth H. Bramson delivered a riveting account of the life of Henry Morrison Flagler and explained how his famous railway resulted from a combination of serendipity and business savvy.<\/p>\n
Monroe briefly commented on several vintage paintings from the prolific Florida Highwaymen that were exhibited at the event. This group, reborn through Monroe\u2019s book of the same name, were self-taught and self-mentored African-American artists, who by the most recent count reached a quarter-million paintings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Louis Arias In Motion Staff Writer As part of Homecoming activities, Daytona State College hosted a day-long \u201cFlorida: The State of the Humanities\u2026 a Symposium.\u201d The conference gathered some of the state\u2019s best writers, researchers and artists, who covered important topics that included the relevancy of humanities in the age Continue reading Spectators feast on Florida at the Hosseini Center<\/span>