The "Looking for Angola" project aims to uncover the history of a free black settlement called Angola that existed in Florida in the late 18th century. Over the past year, the project has conducted underwater and archaeological surveys to find artifacts and gain more information. It has also worked to raise public awareness through educational outreach and media coverage. The article profiles several experts involved in the project and their contributions, including leading surveys, giving presentations, and helping to interpret findings. It also discusses efforts to maintain community involvement and support for continuing the long-term work of the project.

1. 6 LOOKING FOR ANGOLA A HERALD-TRIBUNE MEDIA GROUP NEWSPAPER-IN-EDUCATION PUBLICATION6 LOOKING FOR ANGOLA A HERALD-TRIBUNE MEDIA GROUP NEWSPAPER-IN-EDUCATION PUBLICATION
Vickie Oldham
Director, “Looking for Angola” project
“Looking for Angola” is going to be a long-term process.
It’s something you hang in there with. It’s going to be part
of my life forever, even when artifacts are found.
Following the Miami Herald article published in
October,Igotacallfromamovieproducerwhoisinterested
in developing the story of Angola into a feature film – a
major motion picture, like Amistad (1997, Directed by Steven Spielberg).
When I got started early on, if someone asked me what my vision was, I would
have rattled off all of these things, movie, ceremonies, museum, statue in their
honor, etc.
My excitement as we move further into the process is that some of these
things that seemed rather far off are actually coming to fruition. I can see now
that they are not figments of my imagination, but they can actually happen.
Dr. Canter Brown, Jr.
Lead Historian, “Looking for Angola” project;
Fort Valley State University, Georgia
We have a lot more documents to discover that will
allow us to have an even greater understanding of Angola.
Nonetheless, we have now a body of documentary evidence
that I think is unimpeachable in establishing the existence
of Angola. But details about day-to-day life, as well as its specific location,
constitute huge gaps.
The more we can paint a human portrait of their lives, the more compelling
this story is going to be. If we can do that, I think that it will touch more
people and allow more people to understand the real significance of that site,
of their lives, and the importance of understanding African American history
in Florida and in the United States.
Dr. Uzi Baram
Public Archaeology, New College of Florida
One presentation:
No one wants to be enslaved. Throughout history,
including in North America, the enslaved sought freedom.
That is a simple statement that should be able to stand
on its own, but, for lots of reasons, scholars have had to
document, even prove it. Looking for Angola is a new
chapter in revealing the struggles for freedom, one that helps remind the past
of the importance of Tampa Bay and Sarasota Bay in the history of human
liberty. Archaeological evidence will help us understand how people managed
to escape, illustrate how they lived as free peoples, and illuminate the choices
made by courageous people that connects the known havens of freedom on the
Apalachicola and Suwannee rivers to the Underground Railroad that led to
the Bahamas.
Dr. J. Cozzi
Underwater Archaeologist, Mote Marine
I think our project has been successful in stirring up
interest. For example, some evidence of this…Because of
our river survey, the Florida Maritime Museum plans to do
a survey of the river. Also, I recently spoke at the South
Florida Museum at their facility, Bishop Planetarium. They
saw some of the coverage of Angola in the press, and it spurred on interest about
the Manatee River and what things could be found there. I think “Looking for
Angola” has brought a forgotten chapter in Florida history to light, and people
in the area are interested in learning more about it.
Dr. Rosalyn Howard
Anthropologist, University of Central Florida
Dr. Rosalyn Howard is the Bahamian connection to
the Angola story. “The history of these two countries (the
United States and the Bahamas) is very closely intertwined
and there has been research from different angles. There’s
much more work to be done. Inroads are being made in the
awareness process. During my trip this past summer, I met
with the Ministry of Education. The story and their connection to Angola are
becoming more tangible to them and more tangible to the people of Red Bays.”
Dr. Terry Weik
African American Archaeologist
University of South Carolina
After Dr. Uzi Baram was invited to join Looking for
Angola, he reviewed the work that had already been done.
Dr. Baram explained further: “And I returned to the work
of a recent PhD from the University of Florida , a Historical
Archaeologist who was revealing the lives of Black Seminoles by excavating
Pilaklikaha. Dr. Terrance Weik, now a professor of Anthropology at the
University of South Carolina , is at the forefront of the archaeology of freedom.
He generously gave the team information and insights. Now that the project is
moving to archaeological excavations, Professor Weik is a key member of this
interdisciplinary research team.”
Education Expert
Gay Sherman Smith, M.Ed.
Educational writer, “Looking for Angola” project
The story of Angola had me hooked from the day I sat
down and interviewed the team about what I was going
to write. I then had my own puzzle pieces to fit together
to make sense of it all. In addition to the demanding
material, I was writing the first in the series of publications while in the
hospital. The story of Angola inspired in me a determination to breathe the
story in and exhale it out through my writing, despite the challenges I was
facing at the time. I’m proud to say last year’s series of publications is up for
a national award with the Newspaper Association of America. I’m hoping
their decision in May brings more good news to further the mission of the
“Looking for Angola” project.
Community of
EXPERTS
AS YOU READ, think about the ways each
of these experts have contributed to the project.
What evidence do you find of their individual
expertise in this publication?

2. PUBLICATION LOOKING FOR ANGOLA 7
‘R
oots of Community’ on page 3 of this
special section revisited the theme of
community for the “Looking for Angola”
project. The gaining momentum of the project and
Angola’s story received significant media attention
this past year, as the underwater and underground
surveys were conducted before the watchful eyes of
the community. Public awareness and engagement
create a high energy and collaborative interest in the
search for Angola. The importance of sustaining the
commitment of all the stakeholders in this project
– African Americans, the people of Red Bays, the
Tampa Bay population, just to name a few – as well
as bring it to the attention of new audiences, drives
the team of experts to persist in their mission to
communicate the story of Angola. In the time that
passes between funded investigations, “Looking
for Angola” can only stay alive by maintaining a
dynamic presence in the community.
Keeping the story alive in 2007
Project Director, Vickie Oldham perseveres
with passion in driving home the message and
story of Angola to the public. To a packed house
of community and business leaders, Oldham served
as program host of the Martin Luther King Prayer
Breakfast in January. She promoted the upcoming
river survey there, as well as the Friday before at the
Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration. Sarasota
MayorFreddAtkinsalsopubliclyshowedhissupport
for the project and the underwater survey during the
weekend-long event.
Vickie Oldham also kicked off the teacher
workshops later that month, an introduction to
the Herald-Tribune published student series to
be utilized in
classroom history
instruction. As
a follow-up
and extension
of school participation, students from Sarasota,
Manatee and Charlotte counties learned more
about Angola firsthand through a series of Angola
timeline field trips in April and May. Students
visited places of local historical significance,
including Reflections of Manatee, the site of the
underground sensing survey planned for July.
February brought Oldham to Largo, Florida
for their African American Heritage Festival.
As an invited speaker, she again promoted
the underwater survey. For Angola’s Project
Director, every opportunity to spread the word
was seized with conviction and excitement.
Oldham also serves on University of Florida’s
Telecommunications Board of Advisors. She
provides updates to the faculty and administration,
as well as student interns. Out of the spotlight,
Oldham also diligently worked throughout the year
on the production of a video segment, which would
further tell the story of Angola. She approved the
final product in June.
The rest of the team did their part and pitched
in, accepting invitations to speak, and making
themselves available for interviews from the media.
Due to media coverage regarding Angola and the
river survey, for example, Dr. Cozzi was invited to
speak by the South Florida Museum. His subsequent
presentation at their Bishop Planetarium facility
satisfied their interest about potential discoveries of
artifacts at the bottom of the Manatee River.
Dr. Uzi Baram gave academic papers and more
public presentations, leading a discussion on why
be utilized in
classroom history
instruction. As
about Angola firsthand through a series of Angola
timeline field trips in April and May. Students
visited places of local historical significance,
including Reflections of Manatee, the site of the
underground sensing survey planned for July.
for their African American Heritage Festival.
As an invited speaker, she again promoted
the underwater survey. For Angola’s Project
Diggin’ in the
Herald-Tribune:
Using the newspaper’s archives or
from the “Looking for Angola” website,
pull up all the press coverage on Angola
in the past year. Print out the articles
and divide them among the students in
your class, so that a small, cooperative
group reads each article. In each group,
take turns reading parts of the article
aloud, and then discuss what you’ve read. Next,
highlight the sections of the article that relay the
history of Angola and the project. Finally, compare
the highlighted sections of the articles as a class.
What similarities and differences can you find in
the telling? Lead paragraph in each article? Using
a graphic organizer, analyze the writing structure
in how the story was conveyed. Use this exercise
as a model/practice for writing your own article
about “Looking for Angola” as a final project, after
completely reading this special section.
Sunshine State Standards: LA8151, LA8162, LA8173,
LA8175, LA8176, LA8177, LA8222, LA8223, LA8224,
LA8521, LA8641
Community Outreach and Media Attention:
The Story Stays ALIVE
“Wehavetheopportunitytotellthatstory[Angola],butweneedthehelp
of people in doing it. We need their support and their open-mindedness
about it, to realize that here is something we can all take pride in,
here is something we can all benefit from, and to help encourage our
state to get more heavily invested in its history, particular its African
American history.”
~ Dr. Canter Brown, Jr., Lead Historian,
“Looking for Angola” project
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

3. 8 LOOKING FOR ANGOLA A HERALD-TRIBUNE MEDIA GROUP NEWSPAPER-IN-EDUCATION PUBLICATION8 LOOKING FOR ANGOLA A HERALD-TRIBUNE MEDIA GROUP NEWSPAPER-IN-EDUCATION PUBLICATION
D
r. Rosalyn Howard’s annual research visit to Red Bays included an
exciting first step toward the initiation of a cultural exchange between
students in the United States and the Bahamas.
Matthew Griffin, a high school student from Groveland in Lake County,
Florida, accompanied Rosalyn on her weeklong trip to the Bahamas this
past June.
Matthew is a Black Seminole descendent. At home, he has valued his
ancestry for the past seven years with his participation in living history
events. Matthew and his Uncle John are veteran Seminole Wars battle
re-enactors for events that sometimes draw crowds in the thousands. They
set up camp and become a living outdoor museum for all who wish to learn
or become a part of the history. Making presentations regarding Black
Seminole heritage at schools and for organizations is another way they tell
the story, lest it be forgotten.
“My great grandfather was a slave who escaped out of Alabama and came
to Hernando County and joined the Seminoles there. He took a Seminole
wife,” explained Matthew about his Black Seminole heritage.
Young Griffin took his ancestral commitment to a new level in the summer
of 2007. Laden with luggage stuffed with gifts from his family for the residents,
Matthew embarked on his journey to meet the descendents of those who had
fled his home state almost 200 years ago.
“Their attempt to find freedom was to go all the way to the Bahamas,
traveling in dugout canoes to get away. To go over there and see these people
from a different walk of life, whom I had never known before…and I wouldn’t
have had the opportunity had it not been for Dr. Howard and learning about
the connection between myself and them…and then to meet some people
who had my same last name and then think about that in some way they are
kin…what a wonderful opportunity it was.”
During his interview for this publication, Matthew talked about his
interaction with the residents of Red Bays. He had arrived just in time for
the annual Snapper Fest fishing tournament. He witnessed them setting
up booths and selling their signature crafts (baskets and woodcarvings) and
prepared food to the crowds that came, close to a thousand throughout the
weekend. Matthew also had the chance to see their other ways of subsistence,
such as sponging, fishing and crabbing.
“Most houses in Red Bays have three to four crab pens out back,” Matthew
noticed. He said they put the crabs in the pens while they’re still walking,
fatten them up by feeding them rice, and then sell them.
When the time came for the opening ceremonies of the Snapper Fest,
Matthew was invited to participate. He came dressed in his Seminole attire
and gave a brief history of what he knew about where the Black Seminoles
came from. During the tournament and throughout the week, Matthew
spent some time “hanging out” with a few boys his age and some of the
younger children.
“They’re just like kids here in the U.S. Some of them looked like they
were younger, but then I found out that they’re 3-4 years older than me.
Kids were asking about iPods and MP3 players. They knew what it was.
Most people had TVs. It rained a lot when I was there, so we read a lot.
Storms usually put out the power station a couple of miles down the road
and the main power generator sometimes goes out, leaving them without
any electricity for 4 or 5 hours.”
FAMILY HERITAGE ACTIVITY:
What do you know about your family heritage? Investigate by interviewing
family members and recording your own oral histories. In preparation,
compile a list of questions to ask parents, grandparents, older siblings and
other relatives. Review your notes following the interviews, and then create
a few follow-up questions of interest. For class presentation, create a graphic
organizer that looks like a family tree to effectively display the information and
stories you collected.
Sunshine State Standards: LA(grades 6-12)161, LA(grades 6-12)422, LA(grades 6-12)521,
LA(grades 6-12)522, LA(grades 6-12)642 (optional)
Cultural Exchange in RED BAYS
Mathew showing Rev. Bertram Newton his scrapbook, cutline: Matthew Griffin
showing Rev. Dr. Bertram A. Newton (Pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in
Red Bays) his re-enactment scrapbook
“Just about everyone knew how to make the baskets. It was pretty neat to see that they’re still
doing it, that they’re really passing it down to everyone. It’s a part of their everyday life, making
a living.” Matthew was excited about seeing them in Nassau. “I could tell which ones were
made in Red Bays. They have a particular style that makes them different from all the other
[Bahamian] baskets.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

4. A HERALD-TRIBUNE MEDIA GROUP NEWSPAPER-IN-EDUCATION PUBLICATION LOOKING FOR ANGOLA 9
What’s in a Name?
The people of Angola incurred many labels
throughout their history: The Spanish word,
Cimarron (a person of the mountain peaks),
maroons, exiles, runaway slaves, free blacks,
African Seminoles and Black Seminoles. As
everything was happening in their lives, their
identities kept changing, “not by choice, but
because it was their reality.
“People are always in the
process of becoming, not what
we give them as labels.”
~ Dr. Uzi Baram
Think about all the names you’ve been
given in life. What your parents called you
when you were a baby, a little kid? What have
other family members called you, your friends,
teammates? Mostly likely, you’re still called
some of those names today, some bring up
embarrassing moments, humorous events and/or
accomplishments and some you’ve outgrown
because they no longer fit you. It’s not necessarily
easy to know what to call people. Think about the
evolution of labels for people of color, for example,
in your studies of “Black History” this month.
Many of those labels no longer fit their reality.
Organize a list of all the names you’ve been
called on a timeline. Include dates, ages,
corresponding events, etc. to accurately mark those
labels on the timeline of your life. Finally, choose
a name from your timeline and share its context
with your class.
Sunshine State Standards: LA(grades 6-12)311, LA(grades 6-12)313,
LA(grades 6-12)522
When asked about any differences he noticed between American kids and the
young people of Red Bays, he said the one thing that really hit him and stood out
was that “They’re more appreciative of things they’re given. I brought coloring
books and crayons and some toys for the younger kids, books for their school library,
and dresses and shoes for the ladies. They really appreciated it.”
Research Update
Dr. Rosalyn Howard continued her work of taking oral histories, as well as
updating her kinship charts. During the course of the Snapper Fest, Howard
encountered a couple of former residents who came in from Nassau. To her delight,
she had the opportunity to take two new oral histories and in the process, learned
of important connections to the Angola story.
One of the people she interviewed was related to Felix McNeil, whom John
Goggin had met in 1937 when he was doing his research in Red Bays. For those
reading this series for the first time and as a refresher for last year’s readers, John
Goggin published his initial research about the Black Seminoles in the Florida
Historical Quarterly back in 1946, after his visit to Red Bays. But there the story of
the descendents of Angola was left hanging, with no ethnographies done, until Dr.
Rosalyn Howard followed up his lead almost sixty years later.
Another connection came with the mention of possession of a map of the
original Red Bays settlement. The blurred date on the map most likely reads
1835, not long after the people of Angola arrived there following the 1821 raid.
Little plots of land on this government map are blocked off, numbered and marked
with family names. One name that stands out is Prince McQueen. His is on the
list of names of people captured in Angola. Prince McQueen also shows up in
the attachment to the 1828 letter from the British Customs officer. Dr. Howard
is excited about this development, as this documentation further confirms the
Angola–Red Bays connection.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
archaeologists excavate and when they do not at a Florida Humanities Council event
in East Bradenton. A more personally challenging opportunity came when Temple
Emanu-El’s rabbi heard about Baram’s involvement in “Looking for Angola” and
recognized the themes that resonated with the Biblical Exodus story. For Passover
2007, the sabbath dedicated to remembering an ancient flight to freedom, Baram
told the Angola saga to the Sarasota’s congregation.
This past year ended with a bang with the summer surveys and subsequent media
coverage, especially the article published in the Miami Herald. Then came the
surprising phone call. A dream that seemed far off in the future had come knocking
early for Oldham. A producer expressed interest in creating a major motion picture
about Angola. When asked about celebrities for parts in the potential movie, Vickie
Oldham wishes for award-winning actors Denzell Washington and Forest Whitaker
(“The Last king of Scotland”). Dreams like these will continue to hatch among the
team members.
No doubt, the Angola team of experts will continue their mission to tell the
story in 2008 as they have this past year. Plans are now being made for a statewide
newspaper publication series for the schools for next year, as well as an electronic
edition connection between Tampa Bay and Red Bays students. For this year, their
correspondence will begin soon with the exchange of mailed letters and some digital
communication. Funds are being sought to provide additional computers to the Red
Bays school, so that future plans for students’ cultural contact can be fully realized.