Her Innocence Was Not a Factor in Her Rape and Hanging — On October 25, 1915, the barn of a white man, Gabe Franks, was burned down in a suspected arson. Franks used bloodhounds in an attempt to track down the arsonist, to no avail. Somehow, they concluded the perpetrator was Cordella Stevenson’s son, though he hadn’t been seen in the area…

Tailor, Tinker, Soldier, Spy — I was exposed to several careers in elementary school but never really imagined myself in those jobs. My grandmother and mother were both nurses in those days. I was in the car several times when one or the other was being picked up or dropped off at the hospital where…

The College Board is as Bad as Florida — The Advanced Placement (AP) Program, run by the non-profit organization The College Board, has issued its final 2024–2025 school year guidelines. The AP African American Studies course has been hotly debated since Florida Governor. …

Harry T. and Harriette Moore’s Home Was Bombed on Christmas Day — First, a confession: my path to learning about history, and in particular Black history, was late beginning. I attended Fisk University, where I was surrounded by Black History, and graduated having learned embarrassingly little. I ate in the home of one of the organizers of the Freedom Rides, having no…

He and his Wife are Champions for Morality in the Daytime — The ironically named Christian Ziegler is the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. His wife, Bridget Ziegler, is better known and is the Sarasota County School Board chair, a Ron DeSantis appointee to the newly formed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, and a co-founder of Moms For Liberty. …

America’s Dirty Secret — I’ve been writing about America’s slave breeding farms for years. Over time, I’ve not only gained additional knowledge but perspective. As in many investigations, following the money is the best way to understand. At the same time, racism is a significant factor in the treatment of enslaved people. It’s always…

What is Being Lost When You Think You’re Winning — Though I don’t use it much, I have an economics degree, and one of my favorite concepts was “opportunity cost.” The technical definitions can get complex, but opportunity cost can be easily described as what you give up when making choices. A friend offers you $100 to help them move…

How Safe is Your Home? — City dwellers who aren’t of a certain age won’t know that people used to burn their trash in the back of their homes. In my case, we had an alley neatly bisecting the block lengthwise, and every house had a burn barrel to incinerate trash. …

Florida State Misses NCAA Football Playoff — I won’t spend much time talking about the travesty of Florida State University (FSU) getting passed over by a selection committee for the four teams participating in the NCAA football playoffs. FSU entered the weekend of Conference Championships ranked #4 in the country. They won their game against the 14th-ranked…