The SPOHP Podcast

The Mississippi Freedom Project (MFP) is an award-winning archive of hundreds of oral history interviews conducted with veterans of the civil rights movement and notable residents of the Mississippi Delta. The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program has an archive of 1000s of oral histories available through the University of Florida Libraries. The Mississippi Freedom Project, or MFP, is an important...

In this podcast, activist Leroy Bell argues that four landfills, a sewage treatment plant, and a medical waste treatment plant are ravaging the environment and population of Apopka, Florida, and, importantly, that there are deep ties between the placement of these environmental offenders and the large concentration of African Americans in Apopka. Bell hopes that by illuminating the links between m...

Johanna Collins was born in Orlando, Florida but has lived in Apopka, Florida since moving there in the second grade. In this podcast, she describes her feelings of disappointment regarding the development of Apopka, as well as American society more generally. Topics include gun violence, “Stand Your Ground” laws, and education.   Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series If y...

Fernando Cuevas, Sr. worked as a migrant farm laborer in Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan before becoming National Vice President of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee in 1979. In this podcast, he speaks about his life of fighting injustice, from the time his family had to stop him from assaulting a farmer who had kicked his grandfather on the job to organizing picket lines a...

Originally from a Minnesota small rural town, Bill and Jean Heltemes talk about their lives and how they came to St. Patricks Catholic Church in Gainesville, Florida. They talk about what it means to be a part of the church, and how that leads to feel strongly connected to the community. This podcast and the interview from which it was created was conducted by Joe Vega. The graphic was made by Ant...

During the Fall 2020 semester, SPOHP interns interviewed members of the Catholic community in North Central Florida, as part of the Catholic institutions of North Central Florida (CNCF) project. From the interviews they conducted, interns created podcast episodes to present the perspectives and experiences of their narrators. The focus of this episode is the importance of faith during life challen...

CNCF. Catholic Institutions of North Central Florida Podcast Series. During the Fall 2020 semester, SPOHP interns interviewed members of the Catholic community in North Central Florida, as part of the Catholic institutions of North Central Florida (CNCF) project. From the interviews they conducted, interns created podcast episodes to present the perspectives and experiences of their narrators. The...

Miguel Zelaya is a veteran farmworker and pesticide safety instructor for the Farmworkers Association in Apopka, Florida. In this mostly Spanish-language podcast, Zelaya discusses how his personal experiences with toxic exposure in the workplace has inspired his career in workplace education, the direct links between income and education and access to healthcare and fair working conditions, and ho...

Gainesville Coffee Communities & the COVID-19 Pandemic Coffee shops serve as important social spaces within our community. However, with social distancing and other safety precautions, the COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of social interaction, especially in businesses serving food and drinks. For this podcast, virtual interviews were conducted with local coffee business owners and mana...

Sister Gail Grimes was born in Philadelphia and joined the religious community of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur after graduating high school. In this podcast, she describes being called to service in Apopka, Florida by the Orlando bishopric, the unique organization of the Sisters’ efforts in Apopka, and the main issues facing farmworkers, and African Americans in particular, throughout her ti...

The Mississippi Freedom Project (MFP) is an award-winning archive of hundreds of oral history interviews conducted with veterans of the civil rights movement and notable residents of the Mississippi Delta. The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program has an archive of 1000s of oral histories available through the University of Florida Libraries. The Mississippi Freedom Project, or MFP, is an important...

Marie Francois came to the United States from Haiti in 1997 with her husband and a medical degree. She did not pass the American medical boards, but found a new purpose in activism and educational outreach regarding AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. In this podcast, she describes her efforts to combat many of the myths and taboos surrounding STDs and to organize farmworkers and their c...

Betty Dubose worked in the farms of Apopka from childhood until they closed in 1998. In this podcast, she describes the process of working with the other farmworkers and the adverse health effects she has suffered from being inundated with pesticides, including diabetes, back problems, and heart issues.   Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series If you would like learn more o...

Linda Lee was born in 1952 and spent the better part of that decade and the next working on the farms of Apopka, Florida. In this podcast, she describes being caked in muck from muckstorms, the lack of drinking water on the job, being crop-dusted with pesticides while working, and a special project in which she creates memorial quilts chronicling the lives of those who have died to pesticide-induc...

In this podcast, “Florida Bob” Griffin describes his life as a farmworker from Apopka, Florida. Topics include his blind father, who was nonetheless a successful crew leader, his childhood picking beans to help support his family and purchase school clothes, and his time moving between New York to pick apples and Florida to pick oranges.  Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Ser...

Yesica Ramirez and her family moved to the United States in 2000 with the hopes of earning enough money to build a house to return to in their home town of Michoacán, Mexico. Yesica has been in the states ever since, isolated by language barrier to her job, family, and church. In this podcast, with the help of an interpreter, she describes her life in the United States, including this isolation, w...

Earma Peterson was born in Crescent City, Florida in 1930 and had 14 children and over 100 grandchildren. In this podcast, she describes her life working on the farms of Apopka, Florida in order to support her family and tells a little of the history of her grandfather, who was killed for building a school and a church for slaves.  Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series If...

Geraldean Matthew worked as a migrant farmworker throughout the United States before settling in Florida and landing a job as an advocate for farmworkers’ rights. In this podcast, she discusses advocating for better housing, better wages, and healthcare for farmworkers as well as a few of the troubles she has experience in trying to turn legislators’ attentions to farmworkers’ issues.  Farmwo...

Carol Johnson grew up in Apopka, Florida and worked in the orange groves and packinghouses from fifth grade through her college graduation. In this podcast, she discusses migrant farm work, the health issues her mother and other farmworkers suffered from prolonged exposure to pesticides, dealing with segregation, and the important role education plays in transcending social and economic status.&nb...

Because she and other African American children were bussed out of town for high school, Rossie Thomas’s school days ran from “‘dark-thirty’ to ‘dark-thirty’” leaving her to read tattered, hand-me-down textbooks and complete assignments by lamplight at night. In this podcast, Thomas discusses this period in her life as well as other experiences in education in the segregated South.  Farmworke...

Johnnie Mae Byers, born and raised in Apopka, Florida, was pulled out of school after the second grade to help support her family by working the muck farms and orange groves of the area. In this podcast, she discusses the harsh conditions of such work, including the physical strains of climbing, picking and carrying heavy loads, and exposure to both heat and pesticides.  Farmworker Associatio...

Welcome to Farmworker Association of Florida, a SPOHP Podcast Series. SPOHP is the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. Check out the SPOHP Podcast Intro episode for background info on SPOHP if you are new.  As part of the 2013 summer internship course, students conducted interviews with the Farmworker Association of Florida or FWAF for short. The FWAF is a statew...

Welcome to the SPOHP Podcast presented by the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. This episode was made to give a little background info on what you can look forward to from this podcast. Thank you for listening! SPOHP, one community, many voices.  This episode was produced by Grace Chun.  In collaboration with the Farmworkers Association of Florida If you w...