NICEVILLE — A guest scholar presentation on “The African Presence in Spanish Florida: Black Seminoles” is 4:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in room 132, Student Services Center, Northwest Florida State College, Niceville.
The free Listen & Learn lecture features Dr. Rosalyn Howard, an anthropology professor from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She will present her research about the interrelationships of Seminole Indians and their African allies, who became known as Black Seminoles, in Florida and The Bahamas.
The event is sponsored by the NWFSC Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts Division, the NWFSC African American Student Association and funded by a grant from the Florida Humanities Council. For details call 729-5382 or Dr. Jeremy Ribando at 729-6073.
Among Howard's publications is the book, "Black Seminoles in the Bahamas," which is based on research she conducted while living in the community of Red Bays, Andros Island, Bahamas, for one year. Red Bays is the primary residence of descendants of Black Seminoles who escaped Florida from the early 1820s through the late 1830s.
Howard is also a member of an interdisciplinary "Looking for Angola" project research team. The team is investigating a 19th century Florida maroon community formerly located in the Tampa/Sarasota Bay area, which has direct connections to her Bahamian research community.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: NWFSC lecture on Black Seminoles planned for Feb. 27