# Remembering the Man Who Unmasked the Klan
Florida writer and activist Stetson Kennedy gained notoriety for having infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan but he is also remembered as one of the pioneer folklore collectors during the first half of the 20th century. He made his home in Fruit Cove, just south of Mandarin, at Beluthahatchee. The place was designated a wildlife sanctuary when he moved there and is now a historical site. His books include Palmetto Country, Southern Exposure, Jim Crow Guide, and The Klan Unmasked.
Attend the History Chat
Local author Tim Gilmore recounts the life and works of pioneer Florida folklorist Stetson Kennedy from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13, at the South Mandarin Branch Library. An audience Q&A will follow the 40-minute presentation.
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Tim Gilmore is the author of The Wilderness and Willie Browne (2024) and 23 other books, including The Mad Atlas of Virginia King and Devil in the Baptist Church: Bob Gray’s Unholy Trinity. He’s the creator of jaxpsychogeo.com, a 12-year project (so far) that tells more than 800 “true story portraits” of his hometown of Jacksonville, FL. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida and teaches writing at Florida State College at Jacksonville, where four of his plays have been staged. He writes regularly at timgilmore.substack.com. He writes about the haunted South and how the South haunts America.
Keep Reading
- Stetson Kennedy: Applied Folklore and Cultural Advocacy, by Peggy Bulger
- Alligators in B-Flat: Improbable Tales from the Files of Real Florida, by Jeff Klinkenberg
- South Florida Folklife, by Tina Bucuvalas
- Once Upon a Time in Florida: Stories of Life in the Land of Promises
- Grits and Grunts: Folkloric Key West, by Stetson Kennedy
- It Was Never About a Hot Dog and a Coke!, By Rodney L. Hurst
- Striving for Justice: A Black Sheriff in the Deep South, by Nathaniel Glover
- The Culture Wars of Warren Folks, by Tim Gilmore
- Murder Capital, by Tim Gilmore
- A. Philip Randolph, Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement, by Paula F. Pfeffer
- The 14th Denial: A Civil Rights Memoir, by Cannie Lee Cody, Jr.
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Lit Chat Author Talk: Catherine Wu
Like the protagonist in her debut novel, The Moon Goddess’s Smile, Catherine Wu spent her formative years in China before coming to New York City as a graduate student. After a career in biomedical research and podiatry practice, she followed her heart to pursue her dream of becoming a storyteller. She honed her fiction-writing skills at Boston’s GrubStreet to tell this unique story, a labor of love.
Nowadays, she lives with her husband in Jacksonville, FL. If she isn’t taming the sword ferns and pennyworts in her weedy garden, you will most likely find her in her kitchen, experimenting with impossible flavor combinations or researching her dream family vacation in southern Europe.
Join us from 6:30 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, at South Mandarin Branch Library for a 20-minute presentation by debut author Catherine Wu and 10 minutes of audience Q&A. A book signing will follow, with books available for sale on site.
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