From the VisitTallahassee office: "The Civil Rights Movement is a core part of Tallahassee’s history. During this time, students from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) partnered with local leaders, high school students, and Florida State University students to protest against unequal treatment under the law. Their history is our history, and their actions were crucial in the larger Civil Rights Movement, garnering the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the nation. This timeline offers a look at the defining moments of that history, and how we can explore it today.

On this day, FAMU students Carrie Patterson and Wilhelmina Jakes refused to give up their seats on the bus, and their arrests marked the start of the Tallahassee Bus Boycott. Soon after, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church Reverend C.K. Steele and Robert Saunders created the Inter-Civic Council to coordinate the boycott and negotiate with the City. During the boycott, Black citizens refused to use public buses, and instead coordinated carpools for transportation. The boycott ended in December 1956 after the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, and the City repealed its segregated seating ordinance. C.K. Steele Plaza was named in his honor, and a on FAMU’s campus remembers Jakes and Patterson for their bravery.

In February 1960, the Tallahassee Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) planned two sit-ins at the local Woolworths in downtown Tallahassee. On February 20^th, during the second sit-in 17 demonstrators- mostly FAMU students- sat at the counter and refused to move. In the end, 11 students were arrested, found guilty and given the option to pay a $300 fine or spend 60 days in jail. The Tallahassee Jail-In began after eight students chose jail and was the first Jail-In of the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Tallahassee Leon County Civil Rights Heritage Walk pays homage to the students, also called “foot-soldiers,” who participated in the sit-ins, bus boycotts, and demonstrations."

Certainly, there is more history than could fit into this newsletter. That is why we encourage you to visit the Grove Museum, located at 902 N. Monroe., Tallahassee, FL 32303, where a replete history and archive of the Civil Rights Movement in Tallahassee lives.

From FSU News: "A documentary telling the story of Fannie Lou Hamer will make its national debut on PBS thanks to the contributions of a Florida State University professor, alumni and students.

“Fannie Lou Hamer’s America” will launch the landmark 10th season of America ReFramed with a special presentation on PBS at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, Feb. 22, followed by its broadcast on WORLD Channel Thursday, Feb. 24.

Davis Houck, FSU’s Fannie Lou Hamer Professor of Rhetorical Studies in the College of Communication and Information, helped assemble the project team and has served as a researcher and consultant for the production.

“This project was hard — hard to research, hard to produce, hard to fund, hard to edit,” Houck said. “But with a wonderful and talented team, comprised of many FSU students and graduates, Fannie Lou Hamer will finally get to tell her own story. Her words are more urgent and relevant than ever.”

Airing during Black History Month, the film is produced by Hamer’s great-niece Monica Land and Selena Lauterer and directed by Joy Davenport, a two-time graduate of the School of Communication. Pablo Correa, a graduate of FSU’s School of Communication, is a videographer and producer on the film. Davenport and Correa were both Houck’s students at FSU.

“Fannie Lou Hamer’s America” focuses on the incredible life of one of the Civil Rights Movement’s greatest leaders and the injustices that made her work essential. Hamer tells her story in her own words in the 90-minute film through archival audio recordings and rarely seen video footage. Instead of relying on secondary sources and experts, the team of filmmakers and academics wanted Hamer to narrate her own story from beginning to end."

On January 17, 2022, the City of Tallahassee will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The celebration will take place from 8:00am-6:00pm in Downtown Tallahassee and will include the NAACP sponsored March to the Capitol, the inaugural MLK Day Parade, the 22nd annual Day of Dialogue and the 8th MLK Day Festival.

Four FSU students were selected to represent FSU at this event and present their amazing research:

Jaia Hendrickson, presenting "Internal and External Motivations for Collective Action"

Derica Parathundil, presenting "The Effect of Family Guided Routines Based Intervention Strategies on Communication in Caregivers and D/deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Children"

Is there a creative endeavor you want to undertake, or an original research project you would like to conduct? Do you want to develop or evaluate a product idea, entrepreneurial venture, or a service initiative? IDEA grants fund research, creative projects, and the development or evaluation of new or existing ideas. This is your chance to flex your creative muscles, innovate, and explore.

FSU undergraduate students in all majors can apply for an FSU IDEA Grant (formerly URCAA, MRCE, PRSF). Selected applicants will receive either a summer stipend of up to $4,000 (or up to $6,000 for groups) to fund their self-designed work on a topic, project, problem, artistic product or performance, or other entrepreneurial or creative idea. Projects must last 8-12 weeks and be under the mentorship of a supervising faculty member.

We will also be hosting writing workshops about applying for an IDEA Grant. These writing workshops, held in person and over Zoom, will help you prepare your IDEA Grant application! Here are the dates and locations:

Tuesday, 1/11/2022 at 2pm in HSF 3008 (Register and gain Zoom access here.)

Tuesday, 1/18/2022 at 4pm in HSF 3008 (Register and gain Zoom access here.)

Monday, 1/24/2022 at 3pm in HSF 3008 (Register and gain Zoom access here.)

Applications for those grants will be due February 1, 2022. You can read more about the IDEA Grants here: https://cre.fsu.edu/undergradresearch/ideagrants

Sponsored by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement with funding from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), this award covers all conference costs for students selected to present their research at the annual ACC Meeting of the Minds Undergraduate Research Conference. This year, Meeting of the Minds will be held at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia from April 1-3, 2022. All majors are eligible to apply. Selected participants will have all travel expenses covered, including plane, hotel, and food. Students can present their original, student-directed and faculty-mentored research or creative project as an oral presentation (15 minutes) or poster presentation. Honors in the Major students and those conducting more advanced, independent research are especially encouraged to apply. Note: this application requires one letter of recommendation from the student's faculty mentor.

Deadline to apply for full funding to present at the ACC Meeting of the Minds Undergraduate Research Conference is January 24, 2022. This application does require one letter of recommendation from the student's research mentor; that recommendation is due January 31, 2022.

Click here for more information about ACC Meeting of the Minds Undergraduate Research Conference.

Apply here!

Undergraduate students may apply for up to $750 to cover costs for conferences in their discipline (or a related discipline). Both virtual and in-person conferences are eligible for funding. Rolling deadline, though you must submit this application at least 6 weeks prior to the conference at which you will be presenting (though, you may need to submit this earlier to ensure registration by conference deadline). You will need to upload an itemized list of expenses as part of this application. Read more and apply here: https://buff.ly/35WFYQj

We're holding Virtual Drop-In Advising Hours for Spring 2022 starting January 10th, 2022! Please view the schedule below. You can follow the Zoom Registration links (separated by day/time) for Drop-In appointments. Once you click on the link, you will have to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting, where you will be in a waiting room until the meeting starts.

Monday 10:00AM - 12:00 PM: https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwsdumqrjIsG9aVL0qHMKFA0dfdpWf-tCn3

Tuesday 3:00PM - 5:00PM:  https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMtceGspj4tGN22JdcLaox_c2ItipnIjhzI

Wednesday 10:00AM - 12:00PM: https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJclceGqqD4iEtdPOR4voOjKG16nLUYRb4BV

Thursday 9:00AM - 11:00AM:  https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUucu2tpzIjEtXupRoX9BUW9IoZaNdj5rE8

Friday 9:30AM - 11:30AM: https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpdeCuqjoiG9SrqpOWTP_IjlXfDs5cEuEK

CRE VIRTUAL ADVISING

Please set up a meeting through Campus Connect, use the instructions on the “Getting Started” page, and we will respond to you with a link to a Zoom appointment.