Dear President Machen:
Three things grabbed my attention at the "First Colony" exhibit the University of Florida has at Government House. It is a good exhibit, but it appears they're airbrushing history, contrary to the genius of a free people, the scholarly tradition of UF, and the promise of University of Florida Emeritus History Professor Dr. Michael Gannon that accuracy would be the mallmark of our 450th commemoration:
1. No mention of the first anti-Gay hate crime in North America -- the 1566 garroting murder of the French Gay translator of the Guale Indian language on orders of Floida's First Governor, Adelantado Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the Spanish Admiral who founded St. Augustine on Sepember 8, 1565, subject to a contract that gave him 2% of the proceeds. United States District Chief Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr. ordered June 7, 2005 that the City of St. Augustine must fly Rainbow flags on our Bridge of Lions from June 8-13, 2005 in honor of Gay Pride, forbidding viewpoint discrimination (all others were allowed to fly their flags, including the Broward Yacht Company and Flagler College, which flew its flags 59 days during 2004-2005 with no tie to history, Judge Adams said, other than one old building). The Rainbow flags decision was grounded in the 11,000 year GLBT history, including the 1566 murder, which is res judicata without possibility of appeal, and which is established by Menendez' brother-in-law, who wrote it down (as in "kill him" because he is a "Sodomite and a Lutheran," reportedly the partner of the the Guale Indian cacique's son). Let's not leave out GLBT history in "First Colony," UF.
2. Wrong date: the display uses the date of September 7, 1565. Wrong. That was the date an advance team explored. The 800 settlers arrived, and the First Thanksgiving was here, on September 8, 1565, with America's first Hispanics, first Catholics, first Jews, first Africans having the First Thankgsgiving with Native Americans -- America's original Melting Pot right here in Rainbow City, USA. Let's get the dates right in "First Colony," UF.
3. Menorcans who walked here from New Smyrna in 1777 were slaves by contract, not mere "refugees." Calling the Menorcans refugees, "First Colony" does not clarify what they were fleeing. Our Menorcan neighbors' ancestors were escaping -- voting with their feet -- from oppressive British indentured servitude, or slavery by contract. Indentured servitude was abolished by our Constitution's Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, along with chattel slavery. Our City of St. Augustine makes this same "mistake" about the Menorcans down on St. George Street, where signage says Menorcans were "contract laborers." Let's get the facts about slavery right, UF -- the irony is that in 1965, the sons of former slaves threw bricks at the sons and daughters of former slaves, right here in St. Augustine. Let's promote healing by telling the facts -- the Menorcans were slaves ex contract -- slaves by contract.
Let's explain what "indentured servitude" was, and compare and contrast it with slavery in "First Colony," UF.
CONCLUSON
Dr. Michael Gannon is right -- we need our history here in St. Augustine to be accurate,
UF must make these corrections, and direct that it be done by tomorrow.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
www.staugustgreen.com
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida 32085
904-377-4998
EASlavin@aol.com
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