By The Marjorie Editorial Team
Editor’s Note:
No one tells a better Florida story than the people who know this state intimately--either from living here or from engaging with Florida issues in a thoughtful way. As we reflect on a busy and eventful year, we draw inspiration from stories written by Florida women that we admire. Here are some of our favorite stories from 2019, presented in no particular order, and why we love them.
1. How The Climate Change Conversation Leaves Out Rural Women
By Stephenie Livingston
What it’s about: Women suffer the brunt of climate change. Writer Stephenie Livingston’s knockout article is both a deep dive into the climate threats facing women as well as critical commentary on voices missing from the climate debate. She deftly unpacks stereotypes plaguing rural women, Southerners and journalists working outside mainstream markets.
Why we love it: Underrepresentation is harmful. Much of the conversation around climate resilience, mitigation and adaptation centers on the coastal experience. We couldn’t agree more with Livingston about the need for increased coverage of rural women, families and livelihoods. Writes Livingston, “we need women who truly understand rural life talking about the problems climate change causes and the solutions, too.” Amen, sister.
2. Florida Women Are No Joke. I Should Know.
By Kristen Arnett
What it’s about: “Florida often gets lumped into one bulk sum in the public imagination,” writes Kristen Arnett, author of “Mostly Dead Things,” “a smashing together of everything that makes up the peninsula.” As consummate Floridians, we know that all too often commercially-driven depictions of Florida result in poor, watered down reflections of our messy, complex, multivalent state. But sometimes, these depictions hit the sweet spot. Arnett offers up her patented wit and #FloridaWoman eye as she reviews some of the most recent contributions to the Florida pop culture canon.
Why we love it: What’s not to love about Kristen Arnett? She walks the elegant line between humor and critique to repopulate Floridian characters with the nuance and depth they deserve.
3. There is Unfinished Business in the Ocklawaha River
By Jennifer Carr
What it’s about: In her op-ed for the Gainesville Sun, Jennifer Carr writes vividly and poignantly about taking up the mantle of her grandmother’s conservation efforts on the Ocklawaha River. Jennifer is the granddaughter of Marjorie Harris Carr, famous Florida zoologist and activist known for her role in stopping the construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Today, the anachronistic Kirkpatrick Dam on the Rodman Reservoir is a remaining vestige of early CFBC work on the Ocklawaha. Jennifer spares no punches and reinvigorates the call to remove the dam and “Free the Ocklawaha.”
Why we love it: Jennifer’s passionate op-ed is an important reminder of what concerned citizens and advocates can accomplish through organization. True, we might not get the results we want as fast as we want, but when it comes to the protection of our environment and natural resources, there’s no alternative.
4. The 1526 Project: The Horrors in Florida’s Black History You Didn’t Learn in School
By Jess Nelson
What it’s about: What do we see when we look past the sheen of Florida tourism? What gets lost in our oft-touted Florida-as-tourist-paradise narrative? Jess Nelson uses the New York Times’ 1619 Project about the legacy of slavery in America’s first colonies to initiate a conversation about Florida’s role in the slave trade. Her article reminds us of Florida’s Deep South identity, its investment in slavery and how industries built on human capital perpetuate inequality and injustice.
Why we love it: This historical survey asks us to check our own complicity in modern day forms of oppression, extraction and exploitation.
By Cynthia Barnett
What it’s about: Each year, hurricane season in Florida brings a tremendous surge of energy and camaraderie between neighbors, families and friends. As hurricanes move closer, our existential despair wanes as we rally for the survival of ourselves and our loved ones. This vibrancy and collaborative spirit could be oh-so-impactful if the same feelings were applied to climate change--an environmental reality that has much greater consensus than the cones of uncertainty that passing storms bring.
Author Cynthia Barnett shares her inspiration from the “extraordinary mobilization out front of Dorian,” and her hope that our ability to protect ourselves and our tribes could someday derail our devotion to the status quo.
Why we love it: The anticipation of an approaching hurricane is a feeling with which we are intimately familiar. The stresses and worries of the daily grind fade as clouds roll in and wind speeds increase. It’s an otherworldly phenomenon that we can’t help but respond to because we can witness the threat. As our survival is questioned, we huddle closer together, and we allow ourselves to care for each other.
So why doesn’t this happen with the climate crisis? This article is a reminder of the potential we have as humans to work together in the face of disasters, be they short or long term.
By Sarah Miller
What it’s about: By 2030, the high rise luxury condos in Miami Beach will experience 50 days of sunny day flooding per year. By 2045, that number rises to 250. Yet, the real estate market in the area is doing just fine.
Sporting a fake wedding ring, Sarah Miller poses as a wealthy woman from Silicon Valley looking for an apartment in Miami Beach as she steers the conversation from the decor to the elephant in the room: what about sea level rise?
Why we love it: This story made us simultaneously crack up and cry at the same time. Miller is able to sandwich hard-to-swallow facts between hilariously awkward scenes, making it easy to take in sea level rise information as easily as a novel. By going undercover as a luxury apartment seeker, Miller is able to demonstrate cognitive dissonance in a way that forces us to look in the mirror.
7. Kids Share Hurricane Michael Stories: ‘We Were Crawling Through the Trees and Jumping’
By Kathryn Varn
What it’s about: Tampa Bay Times reporter Kathryn Varn talks with young survivors of Hurricane Michael, fourth and fifth-grade students of Parker Elementary School in Bay County. She shares direct quotes about their experiences during and after the hurricane, which includes many adorable moments about their pets, the foods they ate and their impressions of the sounds the storm made.
Why we love it: We believe that children’s voices are often underrepresented in stories about Florida’s environment, and this story puts the perspectives of young people front and center. We love this opportunity to get a glimpse into the minds of kids during hurricane season, and by including direct quotes, Varn allows their thoughts to be quirky, unfiltered and bizarrely fascinating.
8. Past Tense: A Florida Love Story
By Peggy Macdonald
What it’s about: It’s a truly Florida love story. The courting, elopement and marriage of Marjorie Harris and Archie Carr written by historian Peggy Macdonald. But like many love stories, this one is not without its own set of challenges. Namely, the struggles that Marjorie faced as a scientist and activist in a world where she was expected to be satisfied with a degree in “secretarial science.”
Why we love it: The quotes from Archie Carr expressing his love to one of our favorite Florida women are nothing short of mystically romantic. Archie supported the fearless Margie as she persisted through one professional set back after another, and we love him for it. Almost as much as we love our namesake who pursued her passions and protected wild Florida despite the systemic challenges that stood in her way.
9. Can Mexico Beach Be Mexico Beach Again?
By Moni Basu
What it’s about: Hurricane Michael destroyed roughly 85% of the homes and businesses in Mexico Beach, a sleepy town situated along Highway 98 between Apalachicola and Panama City. Writer Moni Basu spent her childhood in these turquoise waters, and seven months after Michael she visits for the first time since 1981. She couldn’t fathom the “freshness of disaster.”
In this story, Moni Basu brings the Forgotten Coast back into the spotlight as she speaks with long-time residents who are frustrated with bureaucracy, but more importantly, are afraid the town will sell its soul to developers looking to make a quick buck.
Why we love it: Stories about hurricane damage are usually noted in economic terms, to make them “relatable.” But, seriously, whose eyes tear up after reading the words “$15 billion in damages?”
But this story gets it. It gives a much deserved platform to people whose identity is intertwined with the existence of Mexico Beach, capturing the heartache, frustration and trauma that surrounds a loss more frequently denoted in dollar amounts.
10. It’s 2019 and Most Florida Prisons Still Aren’t Air-Conditioned
By Jessica Lipscomb
What it’s about: 2019 tied with 2016 for the hottest summer on record. As climate change revs up temperatures in Florida, much of the state’s prison population is left to swelter in cells without airconditioning, facing risks of dehydration, heat stroke and death. Florida is one of 13 states in the U.S. that lacks universal AC in correctional facilities, something the Florida Department of Corrections says would be financially and logistically impossible.
Writer Jessica Lipscomb explains the risks of extreme heat in Florida and why nonprofits like the Prison Policy Initiative argue that air conditioning can no longer be considered a luxury, but a human right.
Why we love it: Florida’s incarceration rate is 20% higher than the national average; prisoners are often the most at risk and most helpless in the face of dangerous environmental conditions. Lipscomb is careful to give equal space to the Prison Policy Initiative and the FDOC so the reader can make up their own mind. We commend her for dedicating the space needed to report on the environmental risks facing one of Florida’s most vulnerable populations.
11. Peak Florida: Graves of the Enslaved?
By Imani Jackson
What it’s about: Fish Island, located in St. Augustine, could be the gravesite of the enslaved Africans who lived there in the 1700s. Writer Imani Jackson explores the history of the land, as well as evidence that suggests a slave cemetery could exist there undiscovered and unmarked. Jackson mines through historical documents and recounts issues that arise during public meetings to walk the reader through the challenges that arise while working to preserve a valuable cultural resource like Fish Island.
Why we love it: Unchecked development of Florida’s natural areas does not come without consequences. In many cases, cultural and historical losses are pushed aside, and the value of those lost resources are left unacknowledged and unexplored. This article drills into the past, providing context on how the bodies of these deceased people came to rest on this site in the first place. And it features an important tension that is happening across the state: the preservation of culture in the face of relentless development of Florida’s most unique and sacred spaces.
12. 82 Days Underwater: The Tide Is High, but They’re Holding On
By Patricia Mazzei
What it’s about: A neighborhood in Key Largo has been flooded for more than 80 days, not thanks to rain, but to a high tide causing sea water to accumulate and lie stagnant on the streets. Writer Patricia Mazzei follows residents as they wade through the situation, waiting for the day when they can drive their cars on the road without costly saltwater corrosion.
Why we love it: This read is a perfect combination of science and story. Mazzei is able to sprinkle scientific data gracefully throughout the narrative that follows the folks who are already starting to see the effects of sea level rise. While the situation is certainly gloomy, Mazzei ends on a note perfectly capturing the laid back attitude that is the Florida Keys.