About The Florida Timeline

The Research

The Florida Timeline is an ongoing initiative to draw awareness to the systemic racism that has permeated historical laws in Florida and continues to reverberate in modern-day policy. The information presented on the timeline is the culmination of extensive research on the part of Florida Policy Institute (FPI) and partners. While the research is organized by policy topic to make clear how systemic racism impacts various aspects of life, we recognize that inequity does not occur in policy silos. Floridians experience the simultaneous impact of all these policy decisions made in different areas along the same timeline.

The Initiative

The initiative launch includes key historical information from criminal justice and tax policy. Over many years, the timeline will be continuously updated and expanded to include more information and more policy topics: education, safety net programs, social control, housing, voting rights, immigrant justice, and more. The timeline connects historically inequitable policies to present-day harm and demonstrates how policies created for racial justice have a broadly shared, positive impact for all Floridians.

The Vision

It is only by educating ourselves on the shared legacy of unequal opportunity in our state that we can counter attempts to divide us and silence public discussions about racial equity and justice. We believe in a more equitable, brighter Sunshine State where everyone who lives here truly has the opportunity to thrive without barriers based on race or ethnicity. The Florida Timeline is a resource for fact-based information that helps Floridians learn from our policy past to shape our future.

The Team

The Team

The Florida Timeline Initiative is made possible by the commitment and support of the entire staff at Florida Policy Institute and our partners. Contact us at [email protected].

Criminal Justice Research: Tachana Joseph-Marc
Education Research: Norín Dollard, PhD 
 Food Security Research: Cindy Huddleston
 Tax Policy Research: Esteban Leonardo Santis, PhD 
Worker Justice Research: Alexis P. Tsoukalas, PhD
Worker Justice Research Assistant: Adriana Sela

Communications Director: Sonia Lindell
Communications Associate: Anika Huda
Project Manager: Amber Nixon

Background

Tachana Joseph-Marc, senior policy analyst at FPI, participated in the RE-Analyze learning community with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to strengthen her ability to research and advocate using a lens of racial and ethnic equity. She looked at state policies and certain federal policies that were intended to be exclusionary, racist, or inequitable and policies that had outcomes of the same nature even if they were not intended to be that way. She produced an extensive list of categorized policies and yet, she knew there was more that could be done to tell the full story of our state’s history of policy inequity. Tachana recognized the need for a more comprehensive overview of these policies that could help us ensure new policies do not continue the mistakes of the past. Tachana’s work through RE-Analyze inspired the creation of The Florida Timeline Initiative.

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