Archaeological Research and Public Knowledge: New Media Methods for Public Archaeology in Rosewood, Florida
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE: NEW MEDIA METHODS FOR PUBLIC ARCHAEOLOGY IN ROSEWOOD, FLORIDA By EDWARD GONZÁLEZ-TENNANT A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2011 1 © 2011 Edward González-Tennant 2 This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother, Eleanor Behrens. Thank you for everything, grandma. I love you. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation and the research project it describes would not have been possible without the kind support of many, many people. Above all I wish to thank my PhD committee, whose constant support and critical insights guided me through the process of conducting research and writing this dissertation. During my six years at the University of Florida, I was extremely fortunate to find a group of scholars who were generous with both their time and friendship. I am overjoyed to be in the enviable position of considering every member of my PhD committee a close and dear friend. Above all, I must thank my advisor Dr. Peter Schmidt, his insights and comments on my research were a constant source of scholarly inspiration and his friendship and steadfast support were, quite frankly, the primary reason I remained at the University of Florida. Likewise, I would not have come to the University of Florida if not for my longtime friend, cochair, and mentor Dr. James Davidson. He introduced me to the site of Rosewood and helped ground my research within the larger tradition of African American archaeology. Dr. Faye Harrison offered critical insights and emotional support concerning the ethnographic process, as well as the ups and downs of collaborative scholarship. Dr. Harrison shared her time freely and our many conversations were vital to the success of my research. Dr. marilyn thomas-houston, while not joining my committee until my final year, provided a much needed critical eye concerning my exploration of new media technologies. Her unwavering support and advocacy for my experimentation with these technologies motivated me to explore alternative publishing venues as well as expand my scope concerning the communities of users I hoped to reach with my research. Also, Dr. thomas-houston’ s work with present-day African American communities in North America highlights the continued disenfranchisement of 4 minority populations, an idea which became central to my theorizations of social violence. Dr. Paul Ortiz provided important insights about the process of conducting and using oral histories. His ongoing work with African Americans in Florida provided much needed perspective and our conversations helped me better understand the social milieu African Americans have to navigate on a daily basis when talking about the painful aspects of this community’s history in America. My research also benefited from ongoing conversations with my fellow graduate students. In many ways, my cohort of graduate students at the University of Florida proved as influential and inspiring as my graduate committee. Scott Catey, Jonathan Walz, and Ryan Morini were pivotal in my growth as an anthropologist. I also benefited from my energetic conversations with Matt Watson, whose critical views on all things helped me fine tune my own perspectives. Of course, many individuals outside the University of Florida were important collaborators as well. I am particularly indebted to the Levy County Archivist, Donna Colate, who spent countless hours with me at the Levy County Courthouse. Also, other researchers and community advocates gathered around Rosewood not only played a role in my research, but became personal friends. Sherry Dupree and Dr. Marvin Dunn, both longtime researchers of Rosewood, provided continued support and friendship. I am eternally grateful to my fellow student, friend, and wife Diana González- Tennant. She is undeniably the most important person in my life and her unwavering friendship and emotional support allowed me to continue working when the entire process seemed too daunting to overcome. I am forever in her debt. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 8 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 9 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 11 1 A POTENTIAL PUBLIC ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE 1923 ROSEWOOD RACE RIOT ....................................................................................................................... 12 Why Study Racial Violence in the Past? ................................................................. 13 2 PREVIOUS STUDIES OF ROSEWOOD’S HISTORY AND THE 1923 RACE RIOT ....................................................................................................................... 20 The 1923 Rosewood Race Riot ........................................................................ 22 Re-Capping What Is Known about the 1923 Race Riot .................................... 27 Recent Perspectives on Public Archaeology .......................................................... 30 Archaeology, Counterstorytelling, and Applied Visual Anthropology ...................... 37 Chapter One Figures .............................................................................................. 43 3 HISTORIOGRAPHY OF RACE RIOT AND LYNCHING STUDIES ........................ 44 1890s-1930s: Activism to End Lynchings and Municipal Studies of Race Riots ..... 45 1930-1960: Sociological Studies Develop............................................................... 49 1960s-1970s: Race Riots Become Central Focus .................................................. 58 1980-2010: Race Riot and Lynching Studies Flourish ........................................... 65 What Can Anthropology Contribute to Race Riot and Lynching Studies ................ 87 4 THE CHANGING NATURE OF RACIAL VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN HISTORY .... 89 A Call to Recognize Violence in all its Forms .......................................................... 90 A Continuum of Racial Violence in American History ............................................. 94 Anthropological and Archaeological Approaches to Violence ................................. 96 Assembling an Intersectional History of Racial Violence in America .................... 106 Early Twentieth Century America ................................................................... 111 Assemblages of Racial Violence in American History .................................... 118 Writing Living History ............................................................................................ 121 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 124 Chapter Four Figures ............................................................................................ 126 5 DOCUMENTARY ARCHAEOLOGY OF ROSEWOOD, FLORIDA ....................... 127 6 Documentary Archaeology, Microhistory, and Counter-Mapping .......................... 127 Counter-Mapping Rosewood’s Past ..................................................................... 131 Overview of Archaeological GIS ........................................................................... 135 Case Study: The Rosewood Historical Property GIS (HP-GIS) ............................ 140 Datasets for the Rosewood HP-GIS ............................................................... 140 Data Methods for the Rosewood HP-GIS ....................................................... 142 Verifying the Rosewood HP-GIS .................................................................... 144 Answering Questions with the Rosewood HP-GIS ......................................... 146 Discussion ............................................................................................................ 153 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 156 Chapter Five Figures ............................................................................................ 158 6 VIRTUAL ARCHAEOLOGY, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND DIGITAL STORYTELLING .................................................................................................. 166 Dark Tourism, Archaeology, and Social Justice Education ................................... 168 Archaeology as Social Justice Education ............................................................. 171 Case Study: The Virtual Rosewood Research Project (VRRP) ............................ 174 Virtual Archaeology and Netnography ............................................................ 175 Social Justice Education in Second Life ......................................................... 179 Virtual Rosewood Museum in Second Life ..................................................... 183 Virtual Rosewood on the World Wide Web ..................................................... 185 An Introduction to Digital Storytelling .............................................................. 189 Creating an Engaged Visual Archaeology of Redress .................................... 191 Discussion ...........................................................................................................