Fort Mose roughly 1 mile north of St. Augustine has the distinction of being the first free Black settlement in what is now America. Despite that august history, the site remains little known inside or outside of Florida. 

Kathleen Deagan and Jane Landers have spent the last 40-plus years attempting to uncover and promote the history at Fort Mose. Their book, "Fort Mose: Colonial America's Black Fortress of Freedom," combines history and archaeology to provide as accurate an account of the Fort as exists.

Lake Okeechobee is the most polluted lake in the United States as a result of the governor's inaction on cleaning up the state's water.

Jonathan Dickinson only spent about a year in Florida, stranded here after a shipwreck on his way to Philadelphia from Jamaica, but his name lives on with the Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County. Joining us to detail Dickinson's life and time in Florida is Jason Daniels, editor of "Jonathan Dickinson's Journal or God's Protecting Providence, an Early American Castaway Narrative."

A scam of epic proportions has been perpetrated by the governor upon the people of Florida. Land conservation used an excuse to pay off political bribes.

Robert Rauschenberg is arguably the most influential American artist of the 20th century. He moved from New York to Captiva Island in 1970 and would spend the rest of his life there, more than 30 years. 2025 is the centennial of Rauschenberg's birth year with celebrations being held around the world. 

 Jade Dellinger is Director at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers and joins us to discuss the artist's time in Florida.

In little Arcadia in southwest Florida in the 1980s, two tragedies became national news: the exoneration of a Black father wrongfully convicted in 1968 for the death of his seven children, and three little white boys being ostracized from the community after contracting the AIDS virus through blood transfusions. 

Jason Vuic grew up in nearby Ponta Gorda and remembers following these events closely as they unfolded. He dug back into the stories, and the story of Arcadia, in his newly released book for fall of 2025, "A Town Without Pity: AIDS, Race, and Resistance in Florida's Deep South."

If the James Richardson portion of this episode interests you, be sure to visit our Florida Black History YouTube channel with all of our previous shows about Black History in Florida.

This episode centers on music icon and Winter Haven native Gram Parsons. Parsons career took off in California, but his life began in Florida.

Bob Kealing, author of "Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock" joins us to discuss. Catch Bob October 9, 2025, at Florida Southern College in Lakeland for a lecture about Elvis' time in Florida.

Gram Parsons' Derry Down music venue.

More incontrovertible evidence of climate change: Florida stone crabs are living in the Chesapeake Bay. 

On Christmas Eve, 1951, central Florida civil rights activists Harry and Harriette Moore were assassinated via bomb blast by Orlando members of the Ku Klux Klan in their home. The married couple became America's first civil rights martyrs.  Robert W. Fieseler is a journalist, scholar and the author of "American Scare: Florida’s Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives," a book published in 2025 with newly discovered details about the assassination. 

Visit the Harry and Harriette Moore museum in Mims, FL.

Visit our "Florida Black History" YouTube channel to hear previous "Welcome to Florida" episodes sharing Florida Black History.

Ron DeSantis is using his personal version of a Department of Government Efficiency to harass areas that didn't vote for him; he should turn the magnifying glass on the state's Everglades immigrant concentration camp.

Mark Proctor leads the trust in charge of overseeing the historic Moseley Homestead in Branden. Proctor joins us to discuss the property's history and future.

"Come to My Sunland: Letters of Julia Daniels Moseley from the Florida Frontier, 1882-1886."

"Welcome to Florida" patrons can watch a Labor Day 2025 speech given by Chadd Scott in Fernandina Beach along with accessing our weekly Florida Conservation Newsletter.

The villains running British Petroleum - BP - want to drill in the Gulf again. Their last effort in the Gulf resulted in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Our guest this week is Eckerd College professor of environmental science and biology Beth Forys. Forys is also active with the Florida Shorebird Alliance, and that's our topic this episode: shorebirds.

If you'd like to get involved with shorebird monitoring or birding in Florida, look up your local Audubon Florida chapter.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly conservation newsletter for only $5 per month.

A lawsuit seems to be all that now stands between Florida and a lot of dead black bears.

Paynes Prairie Preserve just south of Gainesville has a fascinating ecological history and history of human habitation as well. Lars Anderson guides tours throughout Paynes Prairie and wrote "Paynes Prairie: The Great Savanna: A History and Guide."

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter."

A new law purporting to ease recovery from hurricane damage for Florida homeowners may have been a Trojan horse from developers looking to get around local growth ordinances.

"Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber," by Blair and Dawn Witherington, is a fantastic resource for anyone walking on a beach in Florida and wondering "what's that?" Blair joins the show to discuss his inspiration for the book and beachcombing finds. The couple have a new book, "Living Beaches of the Gulf Coast: A Beachcombers Guide including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida's Panhandle."

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for only $5 per month.