ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Florida Humanities, the state’s humanities nonprofit organization that support locally-driven public programming is providing South Florida PBS financial support to co-host a community event exploring the history of water, racism and the African American community.
"Broadcasting Hope" Grants. Image taken from Florida Humanities."Wade in the Water: A Community Conversation,” will include a screening of filmmaker Cathleen Dean’s documentary, “Wade in the Water: Drowning in Racism,” followed by a town hall conversation with Dean, community leaders and audience members. The grant provides important financial assistance, covering a significant portion of this special hybrid community event which expands the conversation around the unique look at South Florida’s Black communities and their relationship with the water explored in, Wade in the Water: Drowning in Racism. Additionally, the documentary delves into the racism that drove Blacks from South Florida’s shared, public water spaces in the 1960s and recounts how that has led to a modern-day lack of swim training in the area’s Black neighborhoods.
“Wade in the Water: A Community Conversation” will take place around the Memorial Day holiday 2022, just as the summer swim season kicks into gear. It will be a hybrid Town Hall event, accessible both to in-person and online audiences, bringing together community partners and subject leaders such as Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs of the Social Justice Institute at Florida Memorial College, Diversity in Aquatics, and medical experts from Baptist Health South Florida, among others, to fully address this topic from both a social justice and public health lens.
“We appreciate the opportunity Florida Humanities Broadcasting Hope grant is providing us to engage the South Florida community in this very important exploration and conversation of such a critical subject matter,” stated Joyce Belloise, VP of Content and Partnerships.
"Broadcasting Hope” is Florida Humanities’ new grant program which focuses exclusively on, and provides support to, public media stations. The grant application was open to all Florida Public Media member stations, both radio and television, from April 15–June 30, 2021. Florida Humanities sought out innovative projects — audio, digital, film, and other media initiatives — with a strong grounding in the humanities and were accessible to a broad public audience. The media projects needed to focus on topics that enhance our understanding of Florida and its culture, people, and history.
In total, Florida Humanities awarded $75,000 to four stations to support a diverse range of media productions that will highlight past and present racial injustices while inspiring courageous conversations to shift perspectives, foster unity and shape change.
"Florida Humanities saw a great need to support the vital work happening at Florida public media stations, and to simultaneously bring forth stories of resilience, hope, and unity in communities across the Sunshine State,” said Lindsey Morrison, grants director at Florida Humanities. “We were thrilled to launch ‘Broadcasting Hope’ in an effort to meet this moment."
About Florida Humanities
Florida Humanities, the statewide, nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and sharing the history, literature, culture, and personal stories that offer Floridians a better understanding of themselves, their communities, and their state. Since 1973, Florida Humanities has awarded more than $8 million in support of statewide cultural resources and public programs strongly rooted in the humanities. These programs preserve Florida’s diverse history and heritage, promote civic engagement and community dialogue, and provide opportunities to reflect on the future of Florida. Learn more at www.FloridaHumanities.org.
