C E L E B R AT I N G B L AC K AC H I E V E M E N T T H RO U G H O U T F L O R I DA HONORING ROSEWOOD A LOOK BACK 100 YEARS LATER
MENTORS MAKE A DIFFERENCE FLORIDA LEADERS GUIDE THE NEXT GENERATION
NEW YEAR, NEW YOU HOW TO MAKE YOUR HABITS STICK
VOLUME 26 ISSUE 7 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
VOLUME 26 ISSUE 1
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023
DRUM MAJORS FOR JUSTICE OUR ONGOING NEED TO FIGHT FOR DIGNITY
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BLACK HISTORY
REMEMBERING ROSEWOOD THIS JANUARY, FLORIDA MAKES HISTORY WITH THE CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION HONORING THE LEGACY OF A PROSPEROUS BLACK TOWN DESTROYED BY RACIAL VIOLENCE 100 YEARS AGO. BY E. MONIQUE JOHNSON
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he new year is usually a time of celebration and renewal, but for the residents of a small Florida town, the first week of 1923 was a time of terror, trauma, and tears. A century ago in Levy County, Fla., the town of Rosewood experienced one of the most horrific events in American history. A racially motivated attack decimated the predominantly African American town and devastated its residents. This massacre has been discussed and dissected for years. Immortalized in a 1997 film starring Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames, and Elise Neal, and directed by John Singleton, the horrifying events of Rosewood are anything but fictional. Residents were brutally murdered, their homes burned to the ground, and they were forced to flee into the swamps. After decades, more than 60 years of fear and shame, survivors and descendants of Rosewood got justice. In 1994, the Florida legislature awarded $2.1 million (of a requested $7.2 million) to Rosewood survivors, in a historic judgment making them the first, and then only, African Americans to receive reparations from a legislative body in America. A simple request in 2020 sparked this centennial movement. Before she passed away, The Rosewood Family, Inc., historian Barbara Scantling Moore asked family members to pass on the knowledge of the Rosewood legacy to the public. Inspired by Moore’s request, The Descendants of Rosewood, Inc., was born, ready to be a source of inspiration for the next 100 years and beyond.
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“The future starts with honoring the lives that were taken, acknowledging the trauma that was left behind, sharing the stories of the past, and celebrating the promise of all that lies ahead,” says Gregory Doctor, co-founder of The Descendants of Rosewood Foundation, Inc. Today, The Descendants of Rosewood Foundation, Inc., is proud to present the Remembering Rosewood Centennial Commemoration. The centennial anniversary honors the legacy of bravery, determination, and perseverance of the people impacted by the events of 1923. “The future starts with honoring the lives that were taken, acknowledging the trauma that was left behind, sharing the stories of the past, and celebrating the promise of all that lies ahead,” says Gregory Doctor, co-founder of The Descendants of Rosewood Foundation, Inc., and his cousin of Arnett Doctor, the descendant who led the fight for the families’ historic reparations settlement. “We look at this event as a launch pad for progress and are honored to lead the charge in shaping what the next 100 years looks like for our country.” The week-long commemoration will be held on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Jan. 8-14, 2023, and will honor the lives of those lost a century ago and explore what the next century looks like. The goal of this carefully curated week of events is to first gather the community for a larger conversation around race in America, human and civil rights, land ownership, and wealth accumulation, and second, to forecast how we move forward in the future and what that looks like for the next generation. Events include the Rosewood Traveling Museum, Wreath Laying Ceremony at the
actual site of Rosewood in Levy County, The Legacy Forum, Next Generation seminars, movie screenings, and special guest appearances from some of the country’s leading scholars, activists, and cultural influencers. The University of Florida is the Host Sponsor of the commemoration; Holland & Knight Law Firm, which led the battles that led in the 1994 judgment is the Title Sponsor; Southern Poverty Law Center is
the Presenting Sponsor; ONYX Magazine is the Media Sponsor; and it also is funded in part by Visit Gainesville, Alachua County. For more information about the Descendants of Rosewood or the centennial events, please visit the website rememberingrosewood.com or follow us on social @remember1923 and use the hashtag to tag us #Rosewood100. The event is free and open to the public.
Governor Lawton Chiles signs a bill to compensate Rosewood survivors $1.5 million.
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P O L I T IG CO S V&E R GN OM V EE RNNT M E N T
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New Mental Health Service Available to Floridians
Cass is the newest addition to the behavioral health n December, Secretary Shevaun Harris announced that resources that have launched to assist individuals and famthe Department of Children and Families has launched a ilies impacted by Hurricane Ian. The Department, in collabnew behavioral health resource that is available to Floridoration with First Lady Casey DeSantis previously launched ians statewide. The Department has partnered with Cass to the Family Support Line to connect Hurricane Michael suroffer on-demand mental and behavioral health support. Develvivors with families impacted by Hurricane Ian. Individuals oped by mental health experts, Cass uses Artificial Intelligence who would like to talk with a Family Support Peer can call technology to deliver emotional support 24 hours a day, seven 888-850-SWFL. Also launched to assist following Hurridays a week though text messaging. cane Ian is the First Responder Support Line 407-823-1657. Anyone seeking support can text the message "Hi" to 1-833This tool combines current resources into a single point of 365-CHAT (2428). Floridians can chat with Cass for emotional contact that will connect first responders with behavioral support at any time and learn tools to build resilience and Secretary Shevaun Harris health professionals. self-awareness. Cass follows up with reminders and check-ins The Florida Department of Health has partnered with BetterHelp to to reinforce use of skills learned in previous conversations and promote long-term resiliency. The text messages are available in English and Spanish. offer mental health services through three months of free online therapy "I am thankful for Governor DeSantis' commitment to prioritizing the to those impacted by Hurricane Ian. To access these free services, Floridavailability of resources to aid in all aspects of Hurricane Ian recovery," said ians can visit betterhelp.com/voucher and use code: HurricaneIan. BetterHelp will then prompt impacted Floridians with a questionnaire to best Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris. "Individuals impacted by Hurricane Ian may experience the emotional match them with a licensed mental health professional. To access all resources available from the Department, visit impacts at any point in the day. We are excited to launch this new resource MyFLFamilies.com/HurricaneIan. which makes getting support easily accessible day or night."
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SMART TIPS
STICKING TO IT HOW TO CREATE LIFE HABITS THAT STAY WITH YOU BY SCOTT YOUNG
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our New Year’s resolution does not have to be a wish. With a small amount of initial discipline, you can create a new habit that requires little effort to maintain. Here are some tips for creating new habits and making them stick:
1. COMMIT TO THIRTY DAYS Three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain.
2. MAKE IT DAILY Consistency is critical if you want to make a habit stick. If you want to start exercising, go to the gym every day for your first thirty days. Activities you do once every few days are trickier to lock in as habits.
3. START SIMPLE It is easy to get over-motivated and take on too much. If you want to study two hours a day, start with thirty minutes and build on that.
Scott Young writes for LifeHack, where this story first appeared.
4. REMIND YOURSELF Around two weeks into your commitment it can be easy to forget. Place reminders to execute your habit each day or you might miss a few days, which defeats the purpose.
5. STAY CONSISTENT The more consistent your habit the easier it will be to stick. Try doing the habit at the same time, in the same place for your first thirty days.
6. GET A BUDDY Find someone who will go along with you and keep you motivated if you feel like quitting.
7. FORM A TRIGGER A trigger is a ritual you use right before executing your habit. If you wanted to quit smoking you could practice snapping your fingers each time you felt the urge to pick up a cigarette.
8. REPLACE LOST NEEDS If you are giving up something in your habit, make sure you are adequately replacing any needs you have lost. If watching television gave you a way to relax, you could take up meditation instead.
9. BE IMPERFECT Don’t expect all your attempts to change habits to be successful immediately. Try your best, but expect a few bumps along the way.
10. USE “BUT” When you start to think negative thoughts, use the word “but” to interrupt it. “I’m no good at this, but, if I work at it, I will get better later.”
11. REMOVE TEMPTATION Restructure your environment so it won’t tempt you in the first thirty days. Remove junk food from your house, cancel your cable subscription, throw out the cigarettes to avoid struggle with willpower.
12. ASSOCIATE WITH ROLE MODELS Spend more time with people who model your desired habits. A recent study found that having an obese friend indicated you were more likely to become fat. You become what you spend time around.
habit and performing an alternative. Finally, end that sequence with an image of yourself in a highly positive state.
15. WRITE IT DOWN A piece of paper with a resolution on it isn’t that important. Writing that resolution is. Writing makes your ideas clearer and focuses you on your end result.
16. KNOW THE BENEFITS Familiarize yourself with the benefits of making a change: Notice changes in energy levels after you take on a new diet; imagine getting better grades after improving your study habits.
17. KNOW THE PAIN Exposing yourself to realistic information about the downsides of not making a change will give you added motivation.
18. DO IT FOR YOURSELF Don’t worry about all the things you “should” have as habits. Instead tool your habits toward your goals and the things that motivate you.
13. RUN IT AS AN EXPERIMENT Withhold judgment until after a month has past and use it as an experiment in behavior. Experiments can’t fail, they just have different results and different perspective on changing your habit.
14. SEE IT Visualize yourself performing the bad habit. Next visualize yourself pushing aside the bad
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