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Lunch & Learn – From “Freedom Colony” to Maitland Subdivision to Independent Black Township: Eatonville’s Founding Era, 1875-1910

Friday, April 7, 2023, noon – 1 p.m.

Historian Scot French of the University of Central Florida will discuss the intertwined stories of Maitland and the historic Black township of Eatonville, with a particular focus on the neo-abolitionist partnership between the formerly enslaved grove worker Joseph Clark, the philanthropist Lewis Lawrence of Utica, New York, and Union Navy veteran Josiah Eaton of Calais, Maine. French will talk about the distinctive demographics and political economy of Central Florida that gave rise to one of the first and oldest Black towns in the United States.

Scot A. French received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia in 2000. He is an associate professor of History at UCF, as well as director of the Public History program and associate director of the Center for Humanities and Digital Research. He’s also the author of The Rebellious Slave: Nat Turner in American Memory (2004) and lead author (with Craig Barton and Peter Flora) of Booker T. Washington Elementary School and Segregated Education in Virginia (National Park Service, 2007).

Participate virtually or in-person.

Cost: $5, members FREE. With lunch: $14, members $9. Lunch must be ordered by 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 6.

Call 407-836-8580 with questions.

Register