This collection contains audio-visual materials (mostly VHS) and associated digital files related to the Caribbean Writers Summer Institute, which was hosted by the University of Miami English Department and held for five weeks during the summer in Miami, Florida from 1991 through 1996. Each year the program arranged public readings and interviews at a variety of locations in Miami. The presentations were videotaped, and in 2002 the University of Miami Libraries, in collaboration with the Department of English, converted the tapes to web-based streaming media so that a wider audience might have the opportunity to enjoy the literary variety and cultural richness expressed in the writings of the participants. The recordings were reconverted to current archival preservation and presentation standards in 2017. In 2023, Professor Emerita Sandra Paquet donated CWSI conference programs, records of CWSI planning activities, history, and tributes to authors such as George Lamming. The new digitized materials add contextual information to the current Caribbean Writers Summer Institute video recordings that are part of the UM Libraries Digital Collections.
The records contain legal cases, research files, correspondence, audio-visual materials (VHS, CD-ROM, audiocassettes, microcassettes), and trial notes from the Miami Community Justice Project. Topics covered include development for low income housing, gentrification, public housing, and privately run detention centers. In particular, the materials discuss the Scott Homes/Hope VI housing revitalization plan and the Reese v. Miami-Dade County court case; the Sawyer's Walk (Overtown) and Crosswinds (Overtown) redevelopment projects; the Manuel et al. v. city of Lake Worth court case; and the Miami Workers Centers Transit HUB. Other organizations mentioned in the files include Power U Center for Social Change and Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC).
Professor Gregory Bush (History Department) and the Institute for Public History (IPH) have recorded a series of interviews around the issue of public spaces in South Florida. Participants, who are representative of the diverse cultural milieu of the region, reflect and provide insights on migration, gentrification, the history of individual neighborhoods, housing, and community services.
These voices help to articulate the ongoing discourse on public space as it applies to South Florida’s History of development. The recordings and accompanying transcripts of the oral history collection document the unique experiences of the region’s inhabitants. In addition, the collection serves as a repository of primary source materials for students, faculty and the general public.
In October, 1963, Charles Cinnamon, public relations director of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, organized a “Left Bank” art show to publicize the opening of Irma La Douce at the Playhouse. The art show was a success and shortly thereafter the Coconut Grove Association was formed to put on an annual art festival.
In the early days, the whole community got involved, and Festival activities included an antique car parade, coconut smashing contest, concerts, and a children’s art exhibit. The Chamber of Commerce and Grove House artists helped in putting on the festival.
This juried arts festival has repeatedly been selected as the top outdoor fine arts festival in the United States, displaying the work of artists from around the world and attracting families and connoisseurs alike.
The collection contains a variety of material including correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, press releases, administrative files, photographs, ephemera and posters from the Coconut Grove Art Festival 1963 to 2012.
A collection of papers, photographs, scrapbooks, ephemera and other objects that document various cultural scenes in Miami from the 1980s to the present, with an emphasis on the art, nightclub and drag subcultures.
The Bob Simms collection documents the life and activities of Robert H. Simms in the black communities in Coconut Grove and Miami and reflects his work with the Community Relations Board and the Defense Race Relations Institute. The collection also contains campaign materials from Leah Simms, the first African American female judge in the state of Florida, and the "Glory in the Grove" photographs of people and events at the George Washington Carver elementary and high schools in Coconut Grove before desegregation. A final component of the collection includes photographs, correspondence and clippings of General "Chappie" James and his family. General James was the first four star African American General and married Dorothy Watkins.
The Carlota Caulfield papers consist of personal and professional correspondence, literary materials including typescripts, manuscripts, poetry, video cassettes, DVDs, cassette tapes, and floppy discs, and various ephemera like clippings, pamphlets, flyers, postcards, photographs, and publications that document Caulfield's career as a poet, scholar, and cultural figure.
The collection contains audiovisual recordings in VHS and cassette format of television and radio appearances and performances by Cuban comedian Pablo Garí, also known as "El Pible."
Dr. Peggy A. Phillips was a history professor at the University of Miami. Her collection contains materials from three of her history courses, two undergraduate and one graduate, where students were asked to interview a World War II veteran and compose an oral history report based on that interview. The materials include essays, transcripts, audio recordings, and videocassettes.
Dr. Robert M. Levine (1941-2003) was the Gabelli Senior Scholar in the Arts and Sciences, Director of Latin American Studies, and professor of history at the University of Miami. Throughout his career, Dr. Levine exhibited a strong interest in Brazilian cultural and political history, Jewish Diasporas in Latin America, Cuban history, and Latin American history in general. His papers, donated to the University of Miami, reflect all of these interests in the form of video cassettes, periodicals, clippings, photographs, photocopies, notebooks, microfilm, microfiche, articles, and other materials.
Included in the collection are photocopies of a collection of records from the Jewish community of Curaçao in the 18th century; production materials and photographs pertaining to Dr. Levine's "Hotel Cuba" documentary on the Jewish Diaspora in Cuba; a dozen reels of microfilms of Brazilian newspapers from the 1930s; notes, photographs, and documentation from Dr. Levine's research on the Vargas period in Brazil; and two large, hand-drawn maps indicating Jewish establishments in the major commercial district of Old Havana during the pre-1959 period.
Dr. Josephine Johnson is Professor Emeritus of the University of Miami School of Communication, former Chair of the Department of Communications, and alumna of the University. Her scholarship extends from W. B. Yeats to post-modern British poets. She is a recognized solo performer throughout the country.
Josephine Johnson's papers contains documents pertaining to her work in organizing a number of poetry events in the Miami area, including the Richter Library Poetry Series and poetry recitals in Beaumont Hall presented by the University of Miami Chamber Theatre, as well as personal research materials.
The collection contains videocassettes, DVDs, film reels, clippings, letters, reports, certificates, sheet music, photos, programs, manuscripts.
This collection contains a box of reproductions of photographs that were mounted on foam-core boards, used in an exhibit in honor of the University of Miami's Sixtieth Anniversary celebration which took place in 1985. This collection also contains retrospective oral histories, interviews, clips, and short-form films related to the University's Sixtieth Anniversary.
This collection contains photographs, video recordings, university publications, and press clippings of University of Miami's schools, departments, programs, and events, created by the University Communications during the 1980s through the 2000s.
This collection consists of archival materials acquired that relate back to Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the well known environmentalist who was a major force in the fight to preserve the Everglades.
The Louinès Louinis Haitian Dance Theatre collection contains photographs, pamphlets, programs, ephemera, audio-visual materials (VHS and DVDs), clippings, correspondence, and other archival materials documenting the history of the theater and its founder, Louinès Louinis.
Sweat Records began as a local independent music store in Miami in 2005, conceived by DJ and club promoter, Lauren (Lolo) Reskin, and by former WVUM DJ and public defense attorney, Sara Yousuf. It served as not only a record store but a public event space and coffee shop, catering to the eclectic music scene in South Florida. The store was forced to temporarily relocate to the back of Churchill's pub in 2005 after the destruction caused from Hurricane Wilma and eventually moved to its new permanent location near Little Haiti. Sara Yousuf also left her role as co-owner to pursue a full-time career as a public defense attorney in 2006 and was replaced by Jason Jimenez who came onboard as Lolo's new partner in 2007. Sweat Records continues to this day to offer a wide variety of performances and events, featuring both budding local artists and veteran rock bands, and to contribute heavily to Miami's thriving music culture.
The Sweat Records collection contains archival material documenting the history of the record store, including newspaper articles, magazines, ephemera, pamphlets, company records, administrative files, personal papers from Lolo Reskin, and audio-visual material. Items are arranged categorically by series and material type.
The William Calhoun “Bill” Baggs Papers includes thirty-one boxes of correspondence, memoranda, clippings, photographs, diaries and other materials relating to the professional career of Baggs, a newspaper journalist, editor, and political commentator from the 1940s until his death in 1969. As a columnist and editor for the Miami Daily News, Baggs developed relationships with many prominent figures. The Baggs Papers, arranged in six series, totals thirteen cubic feet of materials. In addition to incoming correspondence, the files include hundreds of carbon copies of outgoing correspondence from Baggs to a variety of local, regional, state, national, and international politicians, journalists, and others.
This collection includes administrative documents, news clippings, tapes (betacam and VHS), correspondence, photo albums, programs, ephemera, certificates of membership, meeting minutes, bulletins, scrapbooks, and other archival material prepared by the University of Miami chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society.
The Dante B. Fascell Congressional Papers contain legislative documents, government administrative records, periodicals, correspondence, photographs, film, video tapes, sound recordings, and memorabilia, all documenting 38 years of his involvement in United States politics. The collection also represents a unique resource for study and research relating to the history of South Florida from 1955-1993. Topics of research include American legislative history, Dante B. Fascell's committee assignments, Florida projects, the growth and development of South Florida, the impact of foreign affairs and international relations on the United States, and United States relations with Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua.
This collection contains exhibit promotional materials, correspondence, periodicals, news clippings, sketchbooks, art work, photographs, audio-visual materials (VHS, CD-Rs, floppy disks, Hi8 videocassette tapes), administrative files, and other related archival materials from the local Miami artist, Karen Rifas.
