Blacks in Florida

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at the history and influence of African-Americans on Spanish Colonial Florida as presented by Jane Landers in her article, "Traditions of African-American Freedom and Community in Spanish Colonial Florida," and Robert Hall's "African Religious Retentions in Florida". Both writers present the African-Americans as people in their own right who flourished against the odds. In contrast, the paper shows that Samory Rashid's thesis in his article, "Islamic Origins of Spanish Florida's Fort Musa," suggests that the African-Americans' influence began in their past when they lived in the West African and Islamic North regions, and to actually understand the heritage and influence the African-Americans have had, we must study the culture evident in these areas. The fact remains that he viewed the African-Americans through a repressive slave past, decreasing the effectiveness of his thesis. This paper argues that the influence of Africans on the New World should not be viewed through their slave past; rather, the influence should be studied from the origins of the African peoples and how they flourished despite the restrictions placed within their social circles. Only then can the African influence on the New World be viewed as having more than "survived" in face of slavery and be seen as a glorious fight to exist.

From the Paper:

"While Landers and Hall present their research through the usual concept of immigration, they provide a new and refreshing slant to the theories by showing the success of the Afro Americans rather than the failure. Rashid [2001] goes deeper, claiming that Africans had a stronghold in the region through the Islamic religion which is why the influence remains stronger in the Spanish colonial region than elsewhere in the New World and yet., he remains bound to past slave theories that did not allow the Afro-Americans any identity of their own."

More papers on Blacks in Florida:

• Research Paper # 61699 : "HIV/AIDS in Florida"
• Analytical Essay # 136529 : "Florida and Voting Rights for Ex-Felons"
• Essay # 60806 : "Black Women in the Florida Legislature"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: