South Florida History Takes Center Stage at Two New Lecture Series at Old School Square
Delray Beach, Florida (January 5th, 2024): The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA), which manages and operates Old School Square is proud to host two new lecture series this year at the Vintage Gym at Old School Square (51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach). The lecture series were created by the Delray Beach Historical Society (DBHS) and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at FAU. Free parking is available at the Old School Parking Garage, 180 NE 1st St, Delray Beach, FL 33444.
Delray Beach Historical Society Heritage Lecture Series Presented by the Colony Hotel & Cabana Club
The Delray Beach Historical Society collects, preserves and shares materials from Delray Beach’s past, so that present and future generations can comprehend more fully their predecessors, their communities and themselves. The Delray Beach Historical Society Heritage Lecture Series is open to the public; membership is not required. Costs are: $10 for DBHS members, $20 for non-members, and FREE for students and teachers.
Thursday, January 25 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
GOOD DAY SUNSHINE STATE: HOW THE BEATLES ROCKED FLORIDA
Retired broadcast journalist Bob Kealing has received six Emmy awards and was a two-time recipient of the Edward R. Murrow award. His lecture sets the historical stage for the band’s arrival—a nation dazed after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and on the precipice of the Vietnam War; a heavily segregated, conservative South; and in Florida, recent events that included the Cuban Missile Crisis and the arrest and imprisonment of Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine. Kealing documents the culture clashes and unexpected affinities that emerged as the British rockers drew crowds, grew from fluff story to the subject of continual news coverage, and basked in the devotion of a young and idealistic generation. To learn more and register, click here.
Wednesday, March 13 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
THE SOUND OF THE SEA: SEASHELLS & THE FATE OF OCEANS
In Partnership with Sandoway Discovery Center, Cynthia Barnett, Senior Lecturer and Environmental Journalist in Residence at UF, will examine the human fascination with seashells and their ancient history as global currency, their use as religious and luxury objects, and the remarkable marine mollusks that make them. Learn about an aspect of nature and culture long hidden in plain sight. Her book “The Sound of the Sea” will also be highlighted. The book is a stunning history of seashells and the animals that make them that “will have you marveling at nature…Barnett’s account remarkably spirals out, appropriately, to become a much larger story about the sea, about global history and about environmental crises and preservation.” The New York Times Book Review. Lecture and Book Signing.. To register, click here.
OLLI Lecture Series
FAU has been a leader in the field of lifelong learning since 1980 and is the oldest and largest OLLI in the United States. With close to 15,000 program participants, it is recognized nationally for its high-quality offerings and is dedicated to offering intellectually enriching educational experiences to adults of all ages. The OLLI lecture series is open to the public; membership is not required. Costs are as follows: $30 for OLLI members, $35 for non-members, and $35 for all tickets sold at the door. For more information, visit http://olliboca.fau.edu/, call 561-297-3185, or email olliboca@fau.edu.
Tuesday, February 13 from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
THE GREATEST PALM BEACH
This presentation is about African American life in West Palm Beach during the early twentieth century. Presenter Jermaine Scott will highlight the role of Henry Flagler and the African American workers that constructed his railroads and hotels in Palm Beach. More importantly, he will discuss the significance of “the Styx”, one of the earliest African American settlements in West Palm Beach which housed nearly 500 African Americans. During this period, the city of West Palm Beach was constantly concerned with the sanitary conditions of the Styx and advocated for its complete removal. This presentation argues that African American life was vital to the creation and sustainability of West Palm Beach. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
Tuesday, March 9 from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
DELRAY BEACH’S DESEGREGATION STORY
This lecture explores the long struggle to desegregate Delray Beach’s famous white sands in the middle of the twentieth century while placing it in the context of Black Floridians’ longer struggle to unseat Jim Crow. James “Bay” McBride drowned on Mother’s Day 1956 while saving his brother from a rip current south of Delray Beach’s municipal beach. McBride and his family lived in Delray but could not use the city’s beach because of the city’s segregation ordinance. McBride was not Delray’s first Black citizen to drown in the rough, unguarded waters south of town, but the community members fought to make sure he’d be the last. This lecture explores the long struggle to desegregate Delray Beach’s famous white sands in the middle of the twentieth century while placing it in the context of Black Floridians’ longer struggle to unseat Jim Crow. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
Tuesday, April 9 from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
THE BOOTLEGGING KING: JAMES “CRACKER” JOHNSON
This presentation will focus on the life of James "Cracker" Johnson who was an African American entrepreneur in West Palm Beach during the interwar period. He made his fortune as a bootlegger during the Prohibition era and was the leader of a larger underground bootlegging empire that accumulated wealth and power for Johnson. This presentation will argue that African Americans in WPB during the interwar period found ways to secure economic self-sufficiency in the midst of racial violence and police surveillance. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
Tuesday, May 14 from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
HENRY FLAGLER’S DREAM: THE RAILROAD THAT WENT TO SEA
Ever wonder what it would be like to take a train journey over the sea? Henry Flagler’s railroad did just that. Feeney, dressed as a train conductor circa the 1915-era, will take you on a trip through the history of Florida railroads, including the destruction of Flagler’s dream by the Great Hurricane of 1935. He will also show original artifacts from the golden age of train travel and present anecdotes regarding early rail travel in Florida. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
Tuesday, June 11 from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
MORIKAMI GARDENS: A CONVERSATION ABOUT ART, HISTORY, DESIGN, & HEALING
Join Dr. Emily Fenichel from Florida Atlantic University and Michiko Kurisu, from Kurisu LLC, for a wide-ranging conversation about Morikami Gardens in Delray Beach. Kurisu was a part of the team that designed and installed the fabulous Japanese Gardens at Morikami and Fenichel is an Art History professor. Together, they will discuss the history of Morikami, the challenges in making a Japanese Garden in South Florida, the ethos behind the design, the garden’s place in the broader community, and how such gardens can be healing spaces. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
Tuesday, July 9 from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
FLORIDA’S HIGHWAYMEN: AFRICAN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE PAINTERS AND THE FORT PIERCE ART PHENOMENON
Join Dr. Brian McConnell as he explores the story of Florida's Highwaymen, a group of 26 African American artists that exhibited resourcefulness and creativity, forging a unique style of painting that offered them economic independence amidst the Jim Crow era. Starting in the 1950s and inspired by A.E. "Bean" Backus and Alfred Hair, these self-taught artists depicted Florida's landscapes in a vibrant manner, using a "fast painting" technique. Scenes of serene wilderness—beaches, marshes, sunny days, and storms -- were crafted from memory and experience into landscape abstractions that nevertheless created a very real image of an emerging Florida, America's last frontier. Using inexpensive materials, they stacked paintings in cars for efficient sales, showcasing ingenuity and adapting to expanding automobile access to the state in a manner very different from turn-of-the-century art colonies. Florida's Highwaymen turned to art as a means of livelihood, leaving a lasting legacy of artistic style and entrepreneurial spirit that remains active today. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
Tuesday, August 13 from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
THE GLADIOLUS CAPITAL AND MUCH, MUCH MORE: DELRAY BEACH’S AGRICULTURAL HISTORY
Delray Beach started as Linton, a farming community settled by Michiganders eager to help turn South Florida into a winter garden at the turn of the last century. Their vision soon carried the town to renown as a producer of fruits, vegetables, and, most famously, gladiolas flowers. While agriculture has changed and become a smaller part of Delray Beach's economy, growers nevertheless continue to turn out crops west of town. This lecture will explore that long history of agriculture, placing it in the context of South Florida's history as a garden spot and the larger currents of agricultural production in the U.S. and abroad. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.
