As Florida changed its Black history curriculum and removed books from public schools… first-time Tampa city councilwoman Gwen Henderson pushed back and opened a bookstore.

Florida Matters visited Henderson at the bookstore she runs in Tampa Heights with her daughter Ariel. It’s called “Black English.”

Henderson, who wears a ball cap covered in buttons- Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Florida A&M University and others, says her mission is to elevate books by Black authors, especially graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs.

We sat down to talk about being an educator, books, politics and her priorities for the district she represents.

Arthenia Joyner was first elected to the Florida legislature in 2000, taking office amid the legal turmoil of the presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore. Her sixteen year career as a state lawmaker included two years as senate minority leader, and she was the first Black woman elected to that post.

We sat down to talk with Joyner about her trailblazing career and an upbringing that helped shape her commitment to equality and justice.

This week, we talk with two Black women who are leaders in the community and who have each taken a different approach to politics.

Former State Senator Arthenia Joyner was the first Black woman to serve as Senate Minority leader in the Florida legislature. We’ll hear from her later in the program. And long time educator Gwen Henderson is a first time Tampa City Council member and owner of Black English bookstore in Tampa Heights, which she opened last December.

We visited Black English bookstore to talk with Henderson about being an educator, books, politics and her priorities for the district she represents.

Later in the program, we sit down with Joyner for a conversation about politics, civil rights, and her trailblazing career as a lawyer and state lawmaker.

Legislative priorities for lawmakers in Tallahassee this year include increasing the number of health care providers in Florida and clamping down on children's social media use.

Although the state legislative session is almost half over, there’s still more work ahead for lawmakers before they can pass a budget.

On this episode, we get a progress report on some of the biggest proposals from political journalist William March and Jeff Brandes, former state senator and founder of the Florida Policy Project, a non-partisan research institute.

Brandes and March talk about bills that could erode the rights of local governments to make decisions on the environment, development, and cultural issues like what flags to fly over government buildings. They also discuss the issues that aren’t really being addressed, including housing and homeowners insurance.

Supervisors of elections have a lot on their plate this year. Florida’s presidential preference primary will be held in March, but there’s also a slew of municipal elections all the way up until November.

In the meantime, election officials are preparing to deal with a flood of new voters and changes to voting rules since the last presidential election. They are also dealing with security, making sure voters and poll workers are safe, and keeping an eye on new threats, like the potential influence of AI-driven misinformation adding to the drumbeat of election misinformation.

On this episode of Florida Matters, host Mathew Peddie sat down with election supervisors Julie Marcus, Brian Corley, and Craig Latimer from Pinellas, Pasco, and Hillsborough counties. They talk about what keeps them up at night and what people need to know as they prepare to vote this year.

The choice of candidates for Republican voters in the presidential preference primary has dwindled to just two- former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and former president Donald Trump, the front runner in the race.

That was not what Florida voters- and especially supporters of Governor Ron DeSantis- would have expected eight months ago when he launched his presidential campaign. DeSantis had a huge amount of campaign cash and political capital within the Republican party. He had momentum from a comprehensive victory in his re-election as governor, and grabbed national attention with a series of culture war policies targeting immigration, education and LGBTQ+ rights.

But it all came crashing down after the Iowa caucuses. NBC senior national politics reporter Matt Dixon joins Florida Matters to explain what it means for Florida voters and lawmakers who had anticipated a legislative session with DeSantis out of town on the campaign trail

A new financial disclosure law has resulted in some local government officials resigning.

Senate Bill 774, ethics requirements for public officials, took effect Jan. 1. It requires elected officials in local municipalities to file much more detailed financial disclosures than before- on assets over $1,000.

Cities like St. Pete Beach, Anna Maria island and tiny Eagle Lake in Polk County are among those seeing resignations.

To discuss the issue further, we spoke with Barbara Peterson, executive director of the Florida Center for Government Accountability; Caroline Klancke, executive director of the Florida Ethics Institute; and Joshua Ceballos, local government accountability reporter for WLRN.

An eviction on your record can make it tough to find a place to live. But fighting the eviction in court can be costly. And it doesn’t always help.

Evictions in the greater Tampa Bay region surged last year compared to pre-2020 levels. That’s a trend felt nationwide, as emergency rental assistance put in place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic dried up, and as federal protections that were put in place to make sure people who were out of work didn’t lose their homes expired.

WUSF’s Gabriella Paul, who covers paycheck to paycheck issues, has been following the story over the last several months, talking with renters, landlords, and experts who are tracking the data on evictions and working to help people stay in their homes and deal with the legal fallout from evictions.

Paul joins Florida Matters to talk more about her reporting on evictions and their impact on people who’ve lost their homes. Also joining the show is Tom DiFiore with Bay Area Legal Services.

DeSantis launched the 60 day session with a speech that touched on issues like immigration, education, and law enforcement, and appeared pitched to primary state voters as much as Floridians. The speech sets the stage for a legislative session where lawmakers will tackle issues like health care, the environment, and education, even as DeSantis continues his presidential campaign, vying to be the Republican nominee to challenge President Biden in November. DeSantis said policies in other states have "sparked an exodus" of residents to states like Florida, which he described as a "refuge for freedom and sanity."

Political analyst and retired University of South Florida political science professor Susan MacManus and WUSF politics and environment reporter Steve Newborn join host Matthew Peddie to discuss the speech, the response from the Florida Democratic Party, and what's ahead for the legislative session.