by Mary-Kate Roan
Staff Writer
The first of October has been designated as a weekend of “Consolidation Celebration.”
But this isn’t the first year Consolidation will be celebrated.
“We have been building up to it since 2006,” said Jay Mooney, the senior associate at the Main Library. “(James) Crooks wanted to partner with us on a Consolidation program to build momentum for the 40 year anniversary this year.”
Crooks, a Professor Emeritus at the University of North Florida, is a historian who focuses on Jacksonville’s history and is a published author on Consolidation in Jacksonville.
In 2006, the library began with an emphasis on Consolidation Day by hosting the “Images of Consolidation” exhibit. It will be featured again this year and will open at 5 p.m. featuring photos of the Consolidation era with a Consolidation Day emphasis on the events of Oct. 1, 1968. Folk artist David Milam will perform his songs from the ‘60s as part of the celebration. He’ll also open up at the October ArtWalk, which is the same day.
In 2007, the library added to its photo exhibit by holding a panel discussion on the politics of Consolidation. This year, the panel discussion will focus on how Jacksonville has fared since Consolidation took place.
The moderator is Mike Clark, Florida Times-Union editorial page editor, and the three distinguished scholars making up the panel are: Crooks, Joan Carver, professor of history at Jacksonville University, and Abel Bartley, professor of Pan-African studies at Clemson University.
This year, the library is adding a documentary to the mix. But it’s not just any documentary.
On Oct. 2 at 5:45 p.m. in the Hicks Auditorium the documentary “Government by Gaslight” will be shown. The documentary aired in 1966, and it gave the Consolidation movement a much-needed boost in momentum. The show’s producer, Norman Davis, and former Ch. 4 personality Harry Reagan will come together to discuss the news media’s role in Consolidation.
But it’s not just the Main Library that is celebrating Consolidation. The Jacksonville Historical Society and the City of Jacksonville are partners with the Main Library, as well.
“We’ve been doing taped interviews of people from the era,” said Emily Lisska, the executive director of the Jacksonville Historical Society. “And we’re going to be putting them in our archives as an oral history of Jacksonville.”
Besides the oral histories there will be a special invitation only luncheon provided by the City of Jacksonville. The time and location of the luncheon haven’t been determined.
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