History Fort Lauderdale Presents a FREE Community Screening of the New Documentary “She Had a Dream: Eula Johnson’s Fight to Desegregate Broward County” at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center on March 30 at 5:30 p.m.

   

Eula Johnson at Fort Lauderdale City Hall H28152 18 History Fort Lauderdale Historic Photograph Collection

History Fort Lauderdale, celebrating 60 years as a proud steward of our community’s past by making our heritage accessible and engaging to residents and visitors, will present a community screening of the new documentary film, “She Had a Dream: Eula Johnson’s Fight to Desegregate Broward County.” The film was locally directed and edited by Janay Joseph, NSU intern and Tara Chadwick, History Fort Lauderdale’s curator of exhibitions.

“She Had a Dream” is based on the personal account by Eula Johnson – in her own words – of what it was like organizing the 1961 Fort Lauderdale Beach Wade-Ins 60 years ago. Created as a digital resource to accompany History Fort Lauderdale’s educational presentation “Civil Rights in Fort Lauderdale,” this film juxtaposes historical events with a powerful message that democracy requires active practice of civil duty. It features archival photos and audiovisuals of Eula Johnson from the History Fort Lauderdale collections.

Eula Mae Gandy Johnson (1906–2001) was an American activist in the civil rights movement. She is known for her work to end Jim Crow segregation in public beaches, schools, restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She was considered by many to be the “Rosa Parks of Fort Lauderdale.” In 1959, she became the first woman president of the Fort Lauderdale NAACP. In her capacity as president, she filed several lawsuits against public schools to seek equality for black students, as well as fought against separation in public spaces like drive-in theaters. Part of her activism work resulted in the end of segregation at Broward County beaches. Johnson, along with Dr. Von D. Mizell and several NAACP members, organized “wade-ins” at the white only beaches in 1961. The city of Fort Lauderdale sued Johnson for being a public nuisance. After a judge refused the city’s request to put a halt to the wade-ins, Broward County beaches became desegregated in 1962. In 2011, her house, at 1100 Sistrunk Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, became Fort Lauderdale/Broward Branch NAACP headquarters as well as a museum and welcome center for the historic Sistrunk Corridor. Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Hollywood, Florida is named after her and fellow civil rights activist Dr. Von Mizell.

Wednesday, March 30, at 5:30 p.m. ,African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, Dianne Bienes Seminar Room # 1, 2650 Sistrunk Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 Free

Sponsored by the Broward Cultural Division and supported by the African- American Research Library and Cultural Center. Presented by History Fort Lauderdale, celebrating 60 years of bringing the stories of our diverse community to life through engaging educational experiences, innovative cultural exhibits, research and preservation of artifacts. Visitors can explore the city’s rich past that is housed in historic buildings on a lushly landscaped campus – the History Museum of Fort Lauderdale situated in the 1905 New River Inn, the 1907 Pioneer House Museum, the 1899 Ivy Cromartie Schoolhouse Museum and the Hoch Research Library, South Florida’s foremost history center housing print resources and newspapers from 1910 – present plus 400,000 archival photos, 2,500 maps and 5,000 architectural blueprints.

For more information, please visit https://broward.libnet.info/event/6272837 or call (954) 357-6282.

 For more information, please visit https://broward.libnet.info/event/6272837 or call (954) 357-6282.

For information about History Fort Lauderdale, call (954) 463-4431 or visit historyfortlauderdale.org. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ftlhistory, on Instagram @ftlhistory, on Twitter @FTLHistory and subscribe on YouTube at youtube.com/user/FTLhistor

About Carma Henry 24481 Articles
Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*