Florida Humanities

08/19/2026

⏰ There’s still time to give! 🇺🇸

Thank you to everyone who has already donated to our “Florida Made America” Summer Campaign. Because of your generosity, we’ve raised more than $40,000 toward our $50,000 goal! Help us finish strong and keep the humanities thriving in Florida.

Because of supporters like you, this year:
🌟 57 Florida Talks programs reached more than 2,000 attendees statewide
🌟 FORUM Magazine earned finalist recognition for 30 awards, including Best Writing: Feature
🌟 More than 3,700 books were distributed to 121 library branches to spark conversations about America’s 250-year journey
🌟 Three new Smithsonian-inspired exhibitions launched across the state, celebrating Florida’s many cultures, communities, and heritage.

And we’re just getting started. Thank you for helping us celebrate Florida’s past while inspiring its future.

Donate today: bit.ly/4qsfo9e

08/18/2026

🗺️ Florida is on the roadmap to reading!

Join Florida Humanities this Saturday at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., as we celebrate great reads from great places!

Discover the books that tell our nation’s story as this year’s festival celebrates America 250. Florida Humanities, along with 55 other affiliate Center for the Books, selected one book for Young Readers and one for Adult Readers to celebrate the people and places around our country.

Stop by our booth in Hall D at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for giveaways and a chance to meet children’s author Eileen Meyer, whose book “The Superlative A. Lincoln” was selected to represent Florida literature at this year’s festival. Florida’s adult selection is Judith Bense’s “Early Spanish Florida.”

Learn More: bit.ly/4zqOO4g


The Library of Congress

08/13/2026

Follow the fictional MacIvey family’s rise from 19th-century Florida “Cracker” life to real estate fortune.

Join us August 27 for the next installment of our virtual Director’s Book Club, featuring Patrick D. Smith’s beloved Florida classic, A Land Remembered.

Florida Humanities Executive Director Nashid Madyun will lead a lively discussion of this bestselling novel, which follows three generations of the MacIvey family as they navigate Florida’s changing landscape and rise from humble beginnings to become real estate tycoons.

Visit our events calendar and register: bit.ly/46ELYfn

08/12/2026

Visit a Smithsonian exhibit right in your community!

The statewide tour of the Smithsonian Institution’s “Americans” kicks off this month, bringing this exhibit to five Florida communities from August 2026 through June 2027.

Based on a major exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, “Americans” explores how deeply intertwined American Indians are in the culture of the United States. Throughout the tour, host museums will bring these themes to life through programs that consider this complicated history through the sharing of local stories about Native American history, culture and identity.

You can help celebrate the opening of this exhibit by attending a kick-off event on August 21 from 6-8 p.m. at the Amelia Island Museum of History, where it will be on display until October 10.

Learn more about Smithsonian exhibitions coming to communities throughout Florida: bit.ly/4alNrZT


Museum on Main Street Smithsonian Associates Amelia Island Museum of History Edison and Ford Winter Estates Sacred Lands Preservation and Education Historic St. Andrews

08/11/2026

📣Mark your calendars! 📣

Our friends at Preserve the 'Burg are unveiling a new historical marker commemorating Bayboro Harbor on August 21, as part of their recent Environmental Humanities Program Grant from Florida Humanities and The Mosaic Company.

Details below 👇👇👇

Please join Preserve the 'Burg and USF St. Petersburg for the unveiling of a new historical marker commemorating Bayboro Harbor on Friday, August 21 at 10 a.m. at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library on the USF campus.

Bayboro is one of the most storied stretches of waterfront in the city. Dredging of the harbor began in 1907, transforming what was once mud flats and salt marsh into the basin that would later host a U.S. Maritime Service training station during World War II and, eventually, the USF St. Petersburg campus itself.

The unveiling ceremony will begin with a panel discussion featuring USF professor Dr. Catherine Wilkins and recent USF grad Oliver Laczko, whose work inspired the new marker. The panel will discuss Bayboro Harbor's evolution from working waterfront to campus centerpiece, and why markers like this one matter for keeping that history visible to students and neighbors alike. We will then walk from the Library to the Bayboro marker.

Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the Mosaic Company. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the Mosaic Company.

RSVP here: https://ptb.wildapricot.org/event-6787033

08/04/2026

August is here, and you don’t want to miss these engaging humanities programs from our funded partners across the state!

Visit our events calendar and see what’s happening in your community: bit.ly/46ELYfn

07/30/2026

Looking for America 250 programming this Fall and Winter? Why not invite an engaging scholar to speak in your community through our Florida Talks Program!

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, Florida Humanities is spending the year recognizing the everlasting spirit of Florida with Florida Talks programs that illuminate the many faces of the Sunshine State: its layered past, its dynamic present, and its unfolding future.

Check out some of these America 250-themed presentations from a few of our speakers.

See a full list of available Florida Talks programs: bit.ly/3BVAPah

07/22/2026

🎉 Congratulations to all of our partners who opened their very own “Many Voices, One Nation” exhibitions earlier this month!

Through a collaborative partnership between Florida Humanities and the Smithsonian Institution, three museums and cultural organizations across Florida have created local exhibitions that explore the unique past of their communities, and the stories that connect us all to our nation’s shared cultural heritage.

📍 Don’t miss your chance to experience these special exhibitions:
🏛️ The Allapattah Collaborative CDC presents "Many Voices, One Nation — En Nuestras Palabras" at the Coral Gables Museum
🏛️ Heritage Village Museum and Park presents "Many Voices, One Nation: Stories of Democracy in Our Parks" at Heritage Village Museum and Park
🏛️ The Woodson African American Museum of Florida presents "Many Voices, One Nation — Our Community" at the Woodson African American Museum of Florida

Learn more about Smithsonian exhibitions in Florida: bit.ly/4alNrZT

📸2, 4, 5: Photos courtesy of Boyzell Hosey and Manitia Moultrie

Heritage Village Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum

07/17/2026

Have you ever heard of the phrase “Yo Solo”?

If you paid attention in your American history class or are a proud resident of Florida’s Panhandle, then you know the quote is attributed to Spanish general Bernardo de Gálvez. But do you know the full story behind this defiant motto and how it helped turn the tide in our nation’s fight for independence?

In the newest episodes of our award-winning podcast series “FORUM: Beyond the Pages,” author and historian James Cusick details the events that led to Bernardo de Gálvez’s daring defeat of the British in West Florida.

🎙Click the link in bio to hear our conversation with Cusick: bit.ly/4viBeND

📫Want to get the latest issue of FORUM delivered to your door three times a year? Become a Florida Humanities member: bit.ly/4828LT1

07/14/2026

Explore the hidden history of the sunshine city this Fall during our St. Petersburg Gathering!

From Oct. 16-18, travelers will trace St. Petersburg’s history from the Indigenous peoples who first called this region home through the city’s emergence as a Gulf Coast community and into the present day.

The deadline to register is September 25! Space is limited, so reserve your spot today.

Learn more about Florida Humanities Gatherings and book your trip: bit.ly/4b2ERQx