Editor
Jacob U’Mofe Gordon
Emeritus professor of African and African American Studies at the University of Kansas, Kwame Nkrumah Endowed Chair of African Studies at the University of Ghana, and Senior Fulbright Scholar. President of the African & African American Historical Society, Inc.
Contributors: Alyssa P. Cole, James G. Cusick, Anthony E. Dixon, Jacob U’Mofe Gordon, Karen A. Kirkman, Jane L. Landers, Connie L. Lester, Phyllis Marty, Barbara McDade Gordon, E. Stanley Richardson, Carl Smart, and Robert L. Stevenson.
Discover the untold stories and enduring legacy of Africans and African Americans in shaping Alachua County and Florida in this powerful new book. Rooted in the groundbreaking Alachua County Bicentennial Symposium—held December 7, 2024, at the Matheson History Museum—this volume brings together compelling scholarship, community memory, and a vision for the future.
Produced by the African & African American Historical Society, Inc. in collaboration with the Alachua County Commission, the book opens with a sweeping introduction that synthesizes the most current research on Native American, European, and African American history in the region. Twelve dynamic chapters follow, tracing a journey from Native American societies through European colonization, free African explorers, enslavement of Africans, the rise of the plantation system, and the long struggle for freedom—from the Civil War and Reconstruction to Jim Crow, and the Human and Civil Rights Movement for desegregation and equity. Expert authors analyze contributions and conditions in education, public health, housing, employment, and political action.
This is not just a look back—it’s a call to action. Through honest reflection on past injustices and present realities, the book asks: Where do we go from here? With insight into initiatives like the Alachua County Community Remembrance Project and Truth and Reconciliation efforts, it offers hope and challenge in equal measure.
African Americans in the Making of Alachua County is more than a historical account—it’s a tribute, a reckoning, and a challenge to build a better, more just future for all.