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A rewarding opportunity to hold a civil and honest discussion on mutual interactions on racial issues. Gorham L. Black, III, a retired US Army Colonel will lead this lively "Learn and Grow" conversation. Two independent sessions will offer informed historical and personal experiences of black history. Listen, learn, share, and grow.

Before George Floyd's death galvanized America, the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till is consider the catalyst to the Civil Rights Movement. "The story of Emmett Till is one of the most important of the last half of the 20th century." The presentation examines the impact of his lynching on the movement. An anti-lynching bill has yet to pass Congress.

The question of whether or not the United States is a racist nation is one not likely to be settled now or any time in the near or distant future.  That answer is safe from any conclusion.  However, there have been and continue to be, many atrocities perpetrated on people of color in general and on people of the Black Race in particular is a matter freed from such question(s) both by past and current events.

Despite these evil and ugly actions, Blacks have and continue to be a people that provide(d) much in the building of the security and wealth of this nation.  Much of the racial tensions, especially in the United States, is fueled, sometimes, by the ignorance of a race and its culture, supported by societal systems to exclude much of the treatment and the advancements of these people from school textbooks and general knowledge.  This ignorance exists both in the people of and not of the neglected race.  The aim and hope of this class is to reduce both the ignorance and the racial tensions that it often causes.

Churches are rich with history, and Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist is no different. This nearly 150-year-old church still meets today under granddaddy live oak trees and shares a connection in Ocala history that includes the Seminoles, an impactful black history as an early school, a place using natural landmarks including Nellie's pond, and is even connected to famed thoroughbred farms. Join us for a tour and history lesson. This class will meet at the church at 5000 SW College Rd.

A horse industry professional, Tammy Gantt also has another passion of sharing her knowledge of history to promote inclusivity and diversity. At university, she served as advisor for chapters in the National Black Pan-Hellenic Council; won numerous awards for her diversity-inspired programming and created student trips to significant black historical landmarks. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta, an organization committed to public service with a primary focus on the Black community.

Why do so many horses in major races across the U.S. have a connection to our county? Learn how Marion County became the Horse Capital of the World® thanks to a little horse named Needles in 1956 and how he changed the trajectory of the Florida thoroughbred industry, making it one of the world's leading breeding, sales and racing centers.

View and discuss two engaging TED Talks (visit TED.com) in a salon-type setting where free-thinkers spark each other's minds and hearts through spirited presentations and conversation.

Be stimulated, and become better educated and acquainted. Salons such as this were popular occasions for sharing knowledge and building friendships from Renaissance times up until the 1940s. TED has again popularized this concept with TEDx - local, independently organized events - in vibrant learning communities all over the world.

Participants are sure to leave motivated and more meaningfully connected with the world around us.

View and discuss two engaging TED Talks (visit TED.com) in a salon-type setting where free-thinkers spark each other's minds and hearts through spirited presentations and conversation.

Be stimulated, and become better educated and acquainted. Salons such as this were popular occasions for sharing knowledge and building friendships from Renaissance times up until the 1940s. TED has again popularized this concept with TEDx - local, independently organized events - in vibrant learning communities all over the world.

Participants are sure to leave motivated and more meaningfully connected with the world around us.

View and discuss two engaging TED Talks (visit TED.com) in a salon-type setting where free-thinkers spark each other's minds and hearts through spirited presentations and conversation.

Be stimulated, and become better educated and acquainted. Salons such as this were popular occasions for sharing knowledge and building friendships from Renaissance times up until the 1940s. TED has again popularized this concept with TEDx - local, independently organized events - in vibrant learning communities all over the world.

Participants are sure to leave motivated and more meaningfully connected with the world around us.

Currently, there is controversy about teaching Critical Race Theory. Sadly, the history of slavery presented was largely inadequate. It's a tough subject, more for adults than children to process. "A nation cannot choose its past. It can only choose its future." This presentation examines how slavery's child, racism, undermined "domestic tranquility." Facing our past is an antidote for our future.

A small island off the coast of Nova Scotia has been the site of treasure hunting since 1795 and it is still going on. You may have seen the program, "The Mystery of Oak Island" on the History Channel. We will explore Oak Island itself up on the big screen, look at the findings thus far, and then decide the mystery for ourselves.

If there is one word that sums up the American experience, it is equality. It was a novel political idea to the founders as COVID-19 is a novel virus. Only with time, would it manifest its variables.

More often, it has been an ideal than a lived social reality. Jefferson wrongly claimed equality is "self-evident." Not all Americans, past and present, subscribe to equality. This presentation examines how hierarchy of persons, wealth, and power undermine the American aspiration of equality.

The 1790 naturalization act allowed any free white person to become a citizen of the new republic; all others need not apply. Since then there was a protracted effort to keep America white. This session examines the many efforts to maintain a white America despite the diversity of its immigrants.

The rise of a militant white supremacy today is not new. It was present throughout our history. As it undermined domestic tranquility in the past, so it does today. It is the current "stop the steal" deeper than one election as the prospect of a nation some believe was built by and for them and is being stolen away?