In the first edition of Florida's Megatrends, David Colburn and Lance deHaven-Smith revealed the state for what it is: a bellwether for the nation. The intervening years have only confirmed their analyses, as Florida and the U.S. have been battered and transformed by the housing collapse, the great economic recession that began in 2008, record-high gas prices, withering tourism, the 2004 hurricane season, and much more. This completely revised and updated edition brings the story ...

Insights into modern American politics and society from two of Florida’s most influential public figuresWriting for the Public Good presents a selection of over 100 important opinion pieces from David R. Colburn (1942–2019) and Senator Bob Graham, two of the most influential public figures in recent Florida history. Spanning 30 years and addressing a wide variety of topics that continue to be relevant today, these essays show the key role of Florida in mod...

Africans participated in all the Spanish explorations and settlements in Florida, as they did throughout the Spanish Americas. In Florida they helped establish St. Augustine and the free black community of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose. Africans and African Americans fought in the many conflicts that wracked Florida, including the three Seminole Wars and the Civil War.Despite the oppressions of slavery and segregation, black Floridians struggled to establish their own communi...