Welcome to Florida

Florida's history of racial violence is examined in this episode. Our guest is Tameka Hobbs, Executive Director of the A. Philip Randolph Institute at Edward Waters University. She authored the book "Democracy Abroad, Lynching at Home: Racial Violence in Florida" and lectures on this topic through the Florida Humanities.

Among the numerous critical discussion points you may want more information on are redlining, Harry T. Moore, the Ocoee Massacre and the Equal Justice Initiative.

For a full list of publications by Dr. Hobbs, visit https://tamekabradleyhobbs.com/.

To learn more about the A. Philip Randolph Institute at Edward Waters University, visit https://www.ew.edu/apri/.

You can follow Dr. Hobbs on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tameka-bradley-hobbs-7064395.

Follow Dr. Hobbs on social media: @dr.tamekahobbs on Instagram, Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs on Facebook, and @tamekahobbs on Twitter.

To learn more about the South Florida People of Color, please visit https://southfloridapoc.org/.

Dr. Hobbs can be reached by email at [email protected] for questions regarding today’s discussion or for inquiries about booking.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota and Windstorm Products.

Twelve years of work attempting to find common ground between developers and conservationists in southwest Florida goes down the drain because the developers cheaped out.

Our gest this week is Moni Basu who visited the Spiritualist community in Cassadaga and wrote about her experience for Flamingo Magazine. What Basu found differs greatly from advertisements popularizing Cassadaga as the "Psychic Capital of the World."

Now is the time to visit the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Pete to see it's latest temporary exhibition, "Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West." On view through January 8, 2023, "Black Pioneers" explores the path of Black history in the West with a timeline of original pictorial quilts. The timeline begins in 1528, which marks the arrival of Africans in the American West, and continues through the Civil Rights Movement. Dispelling the myth that Black people in the old West were mostly cowboys, the exhibition shows rich diversity in their occupations and achievements in society, religion, education, and the arts. Choosing quilts as the visual medium for this exhibition accentuates the intersections of African Americans in the Western Frontier while informing others about the art form and its important role in African American history.

"Welcome to Florida" is also presented by Windstormproducts.com, a Florida company which has grown to become the largest online supplier of hurricane hardware in the world. Beyond the hardware needed to protect your home or business from hurricane wind damage, Windstormproducts.com also sells the amazing Quick Dam water activated flood barrier, an inexpensive, easy to install, lightweight product which does the work of dozens of sandbags. If you've ever had to fill sandbags, you know what a pain in the neck that is. Never again. Check out how the Quick Dam water activated flood barrier works.

As always, "Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota which features its own distillery! At Siesta Key Rum in Sarasota, you can take a distillery tour, enjoy tastings and purchase your own bottle of its toasted coconut, coffee and spiced rums.

The Gas and Oil Party (GOP), wants Floridians to believe that it's possible to both promote drilling in the Gulf of Mexico AND protect Florida beaches from the inevitability of oil spills which is, of course, ridiculous.

This week's guest is Jamin Wells a professor and researcher at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Wells is helping lead a project analyzing the deep involvement of one of Pensacola's most prominent historic citizens, T.T. Wentworth, in the Ku Klux Klan. Craig Pittman wrote about the subject in the summer of 2021 for Flamingo Magazine.

"Welcome to Florida," as always, is presented by Visit Sarasota and if you love seafood, there's no better place in the state to find it than Sarasota, particularly its seafood markets which bring in fresh Gulf seafood daily. Across Sarasota County you'll find fresh catch seafood to take home and prepare yourself at these exceptional seafood markets.

Windstormproducts.com is a Florida-owned small business that has turned itself into the world's largest online retailer of hurricane hardware. From bolts and screws and wingnuts to the drill bits required to anchor them into concrete, sidewalks, wood, masonry or stucco, Windstormproducts.com has the professional tools you need to secure your home or business from hurricane wind damage AND the expertise to make sure you have the right product for your job.

Opening September 3, 2022, at the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in downtown St. Petersburg is "Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West." This exhibition, the first of its kind, explores the path of Black history in the West with a timeline of original pictorial quilts. The timeline begins in 1528, which marks the arrival of Africans in the American West and continues through the Civil Rights Movement. Dispelling the myth that Black people in the old West were mostly cowboys, "Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West," shows rich diversity in their occupations and achievements in society, religion, education, and the arts.

Craig Pittman is taking after Ron DeSantis and "firing" people in state government he doesn't think are getting the job done.

Our guest this week is flamingo researcher Tony Pernas. Pernas recently helped found the Florida Flamingos Working Group to help determine if flamingos are a native bird to Florida, or purely an exotic escapee and occasional migrant.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg which debuts its newest temporary exhibition, "Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West," on September 3, 2022. The first of its kind exhibition explores the path of Black history in the West with a timeline of original pictorial quilts beginning in 1528 which marks the arrival of Africans in the American West and continues through the Civil Rights Movement.

The show is also supported by Windstorm Products, the largest online supplier of hurricane hardware in the world. This Florida-owned business not only helps home and business owners prepare for hurricane wind damage, but flooding as well. If you experience occasional flooding on your property, check out the Quick Dam Water Activated Flood Barrier which does the work of dozens of sandbags with a fraction of the effort.

As always, we want to thank Visit Sarasota for its support of "Welcome to Florida." Sarasota was named by the "New York Times" one of its "52 Places to Travel in 2022" for its unrivaled collection of Modern architecture on the East Coast.

The annual state python hunt which is open to the public wrapped up recently; Craig took a look at the efficacy of these contests for his latest "Florida Phoenix" column.

This week's guest is Richard Gonzmart, fourth generation owner of the Columbia Restaurant with its original location in Ybor City. Richard explains how the two sides of his family - one from Cuba, one from Spain - came to America and opened the restaurant which has survived Prohibition, the Great Depression, World Wars and, most recently, COVID.

From the original, the Columbia Restaurant has branched out to open locations across the state including St. Armond's Circle in Sarasota. The Columbia Restaurant is the oldest eatery on St. Armand's and is part of a perfect day spent exploring this unique shopping, dining, history attraction.

Welcome once again to our newest partner windstormproducts.com, the world's largest online retailer of hurricane hardware. Windstormproducts.com sells the screws, bolts, wingnuts and supplies which will secure your home or business from hurricane wind damage, and like the Columbia Restaurant, is a family owned Florida business.

Our episode begins with Craig's latest Florida Phoenix column on how state Republicans are trying to connect fighting climate change and transitioning to clean energy with the culture wars in order to delay action.

Our guest is Florida woman Deb Rogers, author of the book "Florida Woman." The novel uses the escaped monkeys of Central Florida as a plot device. Rogers researched the monkeys, how they got here, how they escaped, and what is being done to control them.

We welcome new sponsor Windstormproducts.com to the podcast. Windstorm Products is a Florida small business which has become the world's largest online retailer of hurricane hardware. Hurricane hardware is the bolts and anchors and products you need to secure your home or business from hurricane wind damage. Learn more by visiting their website, windstormproducts.com.

"Welcome to Florida," as always, is sponsored by Visit Sarasota which has a surprisingly robust mid-century modern architecture history. "Garden & Gun" magazine recently featured Sarasota as an architecture "hotspot" and Architecture Sarasota is a new group working to preserve, interpret and provide tours around that history.

Florida isn't serious about water quality, if it were, it wouldn't keep allowing developers to install septic tanks.

Our guest this week is Jennifer Lemmer-Posey, an author of two books about the circus as well as a curator at the Circus Museum at The Ringling in Sarasota. Jennifer tells us how the circus came to Sarasota for its winter quarters and what the future of the circus is.

This episode of "Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota, home to The Ringling. John Ringling's presence and incredible wealth are a big reason why Sarasota has such an outsized arts community for a city its size from performing arts, to visual arts and museums. Explore Sarasota's cultural offerings and begin making plans for your next visit.

Every see that "King Ranch" decal on the side of a Ford pickup truck? King Ranch is a real thing and up to no good in Florida.

Our guest this week is a longtime collector of Florida related memorabilia and material culture and promoter of the annual Floridania Fest - which celebrates such things - Ken Breslauer. The Floridania Fest just passed its 30th anniversary and Ken joins us to discuss the event and the ongoing interest in collecting Florida.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota where St. Armond's Circle offers circus history, art, dining and shopping in a world class gorgeous setting all overlooking the Gulf. 

This week's episode begins with a look at how the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants will impact Florida.

Our guest is historian and author Cesar Becerra who published an historical novel, "Orange Blossom 2.0," about Mary Brickell and the founding of Miami in the summer of 2021 to coincide with the city's 125th anniversary. Becerra's research has led him to believe that Brickell deserves at least as much credit as does Miami's more well-known founding mother, Julia Tuttle, when it comes to establishing the city. Why has Brickell been overlooked? What about the Tuttle-Flagler Orange Blossom myth? Cesar introduces us to a fascinating female Floridian.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota where Discover Sarasota Tours offers a variety of trolly excursions around town highlighting the area's circus history, Amish influence and arts, as well as ghost tours, psychic tours and murder mystery tours to name a few. Take a seat and take a ride to experience Sarasota in a fun and engaging way on a Discover Sarasota Tour.

This week's episode is all about the St. Petersburg Pier where Craig Pittman was married! That was 30 years ago and took place at the "old" Pier, the inverted pyramid pier. This week, we're talking to Raul Quintana, St. Pete's city architect, who was instrumental in overseeing the planning, design and project management for the fabulous new St. Pete Pier which opened in summer of 2020.

The all-new attraction features 26 acres of park, playground, beach and market on the city's picturesque waterfront. Visitors will find endless adventures and experiences from walking and biking to sunbathing and swimming at Spa Beach, shopping, dining (Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille!), enjoying native plants in the Coastal Thicket and educational opportunities at the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center and St. Petersburg Museum of History.

There's a splash pad for kids along with a "destination" playground completed at a cost of $1 million, family park and picnic area. Fishing. Public Art. Concerts. Guests never run out of things to do and see at the new St. Pete Pier.