Kingsley Heritage Celebration Schedule

Schedule of Events
(Times and events are subject to change.)
Events occur hourly as well as "Throughout the Afternoon," see below!

Return to Kingsley Heritage Celebration home.

 

12:00 – 2:00 Kids’ Corner Activities
Children can participate in hands-on activities that will teach them about what daily life was like for enslaved people living on the plantation. Activities are geared for children ages 8 to 12, and this year’s Kids’ Corner will focus on freedom seeking. Upon completion of the activities, children will receive a Junior Ranger badge.

 

1:00 Black Seminole Freedom Seekers: The Legacies of Abraham, Scipio, and Prince," with Dr. Rosalyn Howard
Dr. Howard is a cultural anthropologist at the University of Central Florida, will speak about a group of African Americans who found freedom in Florida - the Black Seminoles. Becoming interested in this topic when she discovered her own African American and Native American heritage, Howard conducted considerable research on this topic and has written a book entitled Black Seminoles in the Bahamas. Her current projects include contributions to the Looking for Angola Project and the Africana Heritage Project.

 

2:00 "Telling in the Spirit: The Inspirational Stories of a People," with Madafo Lloyd Wilson Madafo is a storyteller and musician, will present through his unique combination of story and song the value of passing on traditions and principles. The Griot (“Gree-oh”) was an African storyteller, musician, historian, poet, teacher, and chronicler of tradition. Learn more about these programs at Madafo's website.

 

3:00 Looking for Angola
Toni Carrier is a public archaeologist at the Univeristy of South Florida. Learn more about the Angola maroon community of Seminole Indians and formerly enslaved Africans located on the west coast of Florida. Visit the project's website: Looking for Angola.

 

4:00 Selected Scenes from Majigeen, a Musical Drama
This play by Jennifer Chase traces the life of Anna Kingsley (Anta Majigeen Jai) from her birth and childhood in Senegal, to her capture as a slave, to her life as a wife, mother and businesswoman in Florida. The play was first performed in 2004 to sold-out audiences. It is a historical fiction based on current research on Anta’s life and Chase’s personal explorations and research in Senegal. Majigeen brings Anta’s amazing story of perseverance and strength to life. Read more at the play's website. 

 

Throughout the Afternoon
Gertrude Laws, shown here portraying Rebecca, a runaway slave that found freedom at Fort Mose, will speak with event visitors about Fort Mose and sign copies of her trilogy of children's books. The books follow the life of a girl and her family's flight to freedom from a plantation in South Carolina to their new home at Fort Mose. The book titles are: Anna's Long Journey to Freedom, Living the Dream, and A New Start. Ms. Laws is a teacher in St. Augustine and does the "Flight to Freedom" reenactment for the Fort Mose Historical Society.

 

Throughout the Afternoon
The Florida Public Archaeology Network will present a table of information and artifacts about archaeology in northeast Florida. The Network will also present a program in February at Kingsley Plantation about ongoing archaeological work in the Timucuan Preserve.

 

Throughout the Afternoon
The Jacksonville Consortium of African American Artists (JCAAA or Ja-kah) will have an outdoor art exhibit featuring the work of local African American artists. The JCAAA fosters an environment which encourages African American arts and artists to flourish and succeed in the business of art.