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UF Grand Opening of the Stetson Kennedy Papers
October 21, 2013 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
“Stetson Kennedy: Re-Imagining Justice in the 21st Century” UF Grand Opening of the Stetson Kennedy Papers
22 October 2013, All Day Events, George A. Smathers Library and Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at Pugh Hall
The papers of noted activist, writer, and folklorist Stetson Kennedy (1916-2011) have been donated to the University of Florida and will be officially opened with a public exhibit, reception and evening panel discussion on campus. Kennedy, whose infiltration of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s led directly to exposés of Klan violence against ethnic minorities, grew up in Jacksonville and learned his writing trade as part of Florida’s Federal Writers Program in the 1930s. He was a pioneer in the field of oral history interviews, a constant activist for social justice, and author of eight major works, including Palmetto Country, The Klan Unmasked, The Jim Crow Guide to the USA, Grits and Grunts, and The Florida Slave.
Morning and Afternoon Activities, Room 1A, George A. Smathers Library, include items on display from the Papers, video interviews with Stetson Kennedy, a noon reception, and a showing of the documentary Soul of a People about the Federal Writers Program. Main panel event starts at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at Pugh Hall, with blues music by Willie Green, followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Ben Brotemarkle with Marvin Dunn, Peggy Bulger, and Lucy Anne Hurston. Reception and book signings follow.
With special thanks to the University of South Florida, and our sponsoring agencies, the UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere Rothman Endowment, the Civic Media Center, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program, the Stetson Kennedy Foundation, and the Stewards of Florida History
This event is free and open to the public.
For information or RSVP, contact Tamarra Jenkins, Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (tamjenk04@gmail.com ) or James Cusick, curator, P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History (jgcusick@ufl.edu) or see the full announcement at the Smathers Library homepage at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/