FREE
5:30-6:30 pm:  Reception with hors d'oeuvres and beverages
6:30-7:30 pm:  Presentation

Join us in celebrating Black History Month at Mission San Luis when Dr. Jane Landers presents her newest research on Fort Mose, the first free black settlement in what became the United States — and on Francisco Menendez, the Mandinga captain who led it. This 16th century frontier community north of St. Augustine blended African backgrounds with Spanish, Native American and English cultural traditions.

Dr. Landers (Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor, Department of History Vanderbilt University) has been researching the history of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose for more than two decades in archives in Spain, Florida, and Cuba. Come learn what she has discovered!