Free Africans, enslaved Africans, maroons, Black Seminoles, African Americans, Haitians, Afro-Cubans, Yoruba-Americans, and a myriad of recent immigrants from numerous countries in contemporary Africa have influenced Florida's history and culture. Africa in Florida challenges the way American history and southern studies have characterized African contributions to the development of the United States by showing how Africans, both free and enslaved, asserted themselves as explorers, farmers, slave owners, artists, and more. This collection of essays and art demonstrates that African experiences in America are not monolithic and explores how Florida both shapes and is shaped by the multiple African diasporas that move through it.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of a documented African presence in Florida, and Africa in Florida encourages a critical evaluation of the influences and effects of the numerous African and African-influenced cultures that have been a part of the state’s history.

Amanda B. Carlson, assistant professor of art history at the University of Hartford, is the author of Converging Territories. Robin Poynor, professor of art history at the University of Florida, is the author of A History of Art in Africa and African Art at the Harn Museum: Spirit Eyes, Human Hands.