Black History

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl. Education was essential for her family, but attending the best school in the region forced Bireda to ride the bus from Punta Gorda to Sarasota.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This story is my reflection as a colored girl.My father, Alonzo Clifton Russell, is my hero. He quietly resisted the Jim Crow requirement of accepting a subservient consciousness.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl. The murder and mutilation of Emmett Till traumatized a young Martha in 1955.

In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl. The predominantly colored community in Punta Gorda was more than a place, it was alive with a consciousness of a shared culture.

The Lee County Black History Society named a new Executive Director in June. Autumn J. Watkins Holloway is a fourth generation resident of the Dunbar Community in Fort Myers. She has two decades of experience as an educator and nonprofit administrative leader. The Lee County Black History Society was founded in 1990 as a nonprofit dedicated to preserving, promoting and celebrating the rich heritage and achievements of African Americans in Lee County.

"In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl." This phrase opens each essay heard on WGCU FM from Martha R. Bireda, Ph.D. Dr. Bireda is a writer, lecturer, and living history performer with over 30 years of experience as a lecturer, consultant and trainer for issues related to race, class, and gender, working with educators, law enforcement, and business, and civic leaders. Bireda also is the Director of the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture of Charlotte County, located in Punta Gorda, Florida. The audio series, "Reflections of a Colored Girl," will be featured weekly on WGCU FM for the next five months. This is the first.

100 Black Men is a community organization with a focus on civil rights, mentoring, African American youth and leadership.

The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved new academic standards for instruction about African American history, after numerous teachers from across Florida objected to the changes and asked the board to put the proposal on hold.

Karyn Parsons spent six years playing the ditzy character, Hilary, on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show was huge in the culture in the 1990s — it ran for six seasons beginning in 1990 and left an indelible mark on pop culture. Her character, Hilary, was — and still is — truly beloved by fans everywhere. What fans didn't know is that during her time playing Hilary, Parsons was devoting quite a bit of her own personal time to writing short fiction, and learning about history — particularly inspiring and empowering stories of African American achievement.