Festival Story Telling Society Showcase

On May 16, 2023, at the Parkview at Cascades from 5:30 p.m. the Soul of Southside Evening of Remembrance forum will bring together scholars and local officials to discuss the development of Tallahassee Black businesses and entrepreneurship through time, from the moment of emancipation through modern times. This conversation will include information about future public and private development and investment within Tallahassee’s Southside, which is an area characterized by connected and contiguous historically segregated Black neighborhoods and community landmarks. This year’s Forum will focus on how businesses and a Black-only economy sustained the lives of families in the area – from agriculture to hair salons, tailors to movie theatres, Tallahassee’s Southside has a rich history of economic resilience in the face of a social structure designed to exclude their participation. Notable figures from the Southside business landscape over the past 100 years will be highlighted, which includes paying homage to instrumental figures like Dean Sybil Mobley, founder of the Florida A&M School of Business and Industry.

Panelists for this forum includes:
– Dr. Will Guzman, assistant vice chancellor at North Carolina Central University and subject matter expert on Southside neighborhoods, history and economic development
– Dr. Marion McGee, program specialist at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C.
– Dr. Tiffany Packer, Professor and Chair of History, Political Science, and African American Studies
-Dr. Ameenah Shakir, Assistant Professor and Living Learning Communities Liaison, Florida A&M University College of Education
This event will also include an informal reception prior to the forum. Public parking can be accessed at the garage across from the facility and street parking off Gadsden.

Read more here.