In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Day, The Woman’s Exchange of St. Augustine is hosting the following free community program.
Mabel Norris Reese: Champion of Social Justice
Saturday, Jan 18, 2PM
The Historic Pena-Peck House & Gift Shop
143 St. George Street, St. Augustine 32085
Free Program Reservation: https://PenaPeckHouseFreeTalk.eventbrite.com
Who Was Mabel Norris Reese? Mabel Norris Reese was a pioneering journalist and a relentless advocate for justice during the Jim Crow era. As editor of the Mount Dora Topic in Florida, she risked her life and career to expose the truth about the Groveland Four, a group of young Black men falsely accused of a heinous crime. Reese’s courageous reporting brought her into collaboration with Thurgood Marshall, the future first African American Supreme Court Justice, whose role in the case is detailed in Gilbert King’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Devil in the Grove. Undeterred by threats, intimidation, and acts of violence, Reese used her platform to challenge systemic racism and expose corruption. Her fearless pursuit of truth extended beyond the Groveland case—she was later chosen to interview Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine in 1963, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
About Joy Wallace Dickinson: A celebrated researcher and storyteller, Joy Wallace Dickinson penned the Orlando Sentinel’s popular “Florida Flashback” feature from 2000 to 2023, exploring Central Florida’s rich history. She serves as a board member of the Florida Historical Society, a Trustee of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Society, a member of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and the Orange Preservation Trust. Among her many accolades are the Historical Society of Central Florida’s Donald A. Cheney Award, the Winter Park Historical Association’s annual service award, and the Florida Historical Society’s Golden Quill Award. Dickinson is also the author of three nonfiction books on Central Florida history, including Orlando: City of Dreams, and the mystery novel Secrets of the Flamingo Café, set in 1940s Orlando.
