Imagining Florida (Africa in Florida)

Africa in Florida: A Discussion with Patricia Hilliard-Nunn and Robin Poynor is one of the five-part series of lecture and discussions. Collectively, these events are designed so that the audience can realize how we use writing, art, storytelling, and history to shape our lives and communities. On February 24th, 2016, one these events was led by Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, African-American Studies scholar and community organizer, and Robin Poynor, art historian and co-editor of Africa in Florida: Five Hundred Years of African Presence in the Sunshine State. They briefly discussed about the emergence of people of the African continent, and then went on to discuss more elaborately on how the Floridians of African descendants incorporated their traditions and art form into this new sphere.

The discussion was started off by giving a succinct background of the first African in Florida. His name is Juan Garrido. He came over in this region sometime around 1513 and was an African-Spanish conquistador. The picture below is a testimony that Garrido provided on his 30 of service as a conquistador.

The discussion continued as the speakers talked concisely about the first British settlements and the advent of slavery into the United States. They also talked about Josiah T. Walls, one of the first African-American congressmen of the United-States, who also served as the mayor of Gainesville, Fl, various times. The Dr. Nunn then explained how the African-Americans are gradually forgetting their ancestral culture due to the lack of dissipation of their history and heritage. The majority of the prior generations just did not understand the importance of teaching their offspring about their original heritage.

The speakers then shifted their discussion to the influence that the native Africans brought along with them as they migrated to the United States. From the daily life an average American to the entertainment that they enjoy, the African culture had significant impact on the average American livelihood. One of the most important points that the speakers highlighted was the free will of an individual to decide what culture he/she wishes to practice. One does not necessarily have to be from a specific country or nation to be able to practice and establish that person’s own, individualistic identity. Dr. Poynor then talked about Baba Ona, an African-American who found the meaning of his good life through the practice of his ancestral culture, and the importance of manipulating the space and the surrounding environment to be able to identify with a specific culture.

Although the discussion conducted by Patricia Hilliard-Nunn and Robin Poynor was specifically about the origins, practice, and influence on African culture, the same can be said about any culture in general. No particular individual is bound to any specific culture. It is unto the individual to decide which cultural identity best suits that person. Although the environment does influence once choice of culture, but it is not possible to enforce a definite set of cultural values onto individual.

Works Cited:

"Imagining Florida: The Place We Call Home." Speaker Series 2015-2016. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

"Walls, Josiah Thomas (1832–1905) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." Walls, Josiah Thomas (1832–1905) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.