Melissa Fussell an expert on the 1920 Ocoee Massacre which happened on Election Day joins us.

We introduce listeners to horrible history of Jim Crow in Florida as we begin a new series of the Florida History Podcast

Kartik's new book is a deeper dive and longer read than his previous writings. He covers how areas that now comprise Florida stayed loyal to the British during the American Revolution and outside of the grasp of the United States until 1821, despite repeated efforts to buy it, conquer it or simply coax into the union.
As America turns 250 it's important to note this history and how Florida wasn't always destined to be part of the United States.

You can find the book at Amazon.com in Kindle, Paperback or Hardcover:

https://www.amazon.com/USA-250-Florida-Became-History/dp/B0FNN23BZ6/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

As a bridge between our college football series and our forthcoming civil rights series we discuss the Miami-Notre Dame rivarly and the racial aspect of it- and assess the empowerment of African-Americans in college athletics.

We discuss the rivalry rivarly that defined College Football in the 1980's and changed the sport in general.

Despite being a backwater in the early days of college football, Florida did very occasionally produce some great teams - notably the 1928 Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes teams of both 1950 and 1956. These were some of the best pre-integration teams from the state.

After we finish our current series on College Football we're going to dive into uncomfortable things about the America at 250 narrative - including events like the Ocoee Massacre and Rosewood.

We will also compare the Bicentennial of 1976 to the America at 250 in 2026. Why is the storytelling so different now than it was then?

We dive into the two largest HBCU programs in Florida and discuss what they meant to civil rights and African-American athletes in the state.

To celebrate America 250 we are going to tell the true stories of what happened in Florida after joining the union in terms of African-Americans. We will go from 1845 right through the Civil Rights era.