The town of Winter Park experienced many of the social and economic impacts of the Civil War’s reconstruction era. During that time, despite African Americans gaining freedoms through multiple constitutional amendments, Jim Crow laws allowed for segregation and discrimination to occur. A vote for incorporation to make Winter Park a city failed due to a… Read More Gus Henderson and Early Civil Rights Activism in Winter Park
In 1948 Susan “Susie” Weasley became the first African American to receive the Decoration of Honor at Rollins College, a prestigious award given to very few individuals over the years. (1) Susie was loved by both faculty and students at Rollins and her very public recognition was supported by President Hamilton Holt himself. Susie was… Read More Respected or Discriminated? African American Staff at Rollins in the First Part of the 20th Century
The founding citizens of Winter Park who moved from upper-class Northeastern communities needed housing accommodations for both themselves and their maids, servants, and other “help.” To support a vibrant service industry for these elite newcomers, Hannibal Square (a set of small plots to the west side of the railroad tracks) was built into the urban… Read More African American Employment in Early Winter Park
Zora Neale Hurston was an African American author and anthropologist from Central Florida. She grew up just a few miles away from Rollins College, in the historic town of Eatonville. Zora dedicated her life to showcasing and celebrating the disenfranchised lives of people of color in her creative arts and writing. During her lifetime Hurston… Read More From Sun to Sun: Zora Neale Hurston and Rollins