Thanks for visiting our website. Here are the 11 students – seven from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications in Gainesville and four from the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University School of Journalism & Graphic Communication in Tallahassee – and four faculty advisers who spent their 2023 spring break reporting across the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. For more information about UFxFAMU1963, please contact faculty advisor Herbert Lowe at loweh@ufl.edu.
[Above] Inside the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas, UFxFAMU1963 members share a moment behind the Resolute desk in a replica of the Oval Office as it appeared during his administration.
Akiva Bell
FAMU psychology senior and aspiring photojournalist from Miami, Florida. Fun fact: She played the flute and piccolo for band for seven years.
Jennica Clerveaux
UF journalism senior from Palm Beach County, Florida, who likes to report on Black history and entertainment. Fun fact: She’s Beyoncé’s No. 1 fan.
Paris Coughlin
UF journalism senior and a Women’s Rugby Football Club member from Charlotte, North Carolina. Fun fact: She was haunted during 12th grade.
Sydney Johnson
UF journalism freshman from Pompano Beach, Florida, who writes about anything news to culture. Fun fact: She has a playlist for every occasion.
Brianna Luberisse
FAMU graphic design senior and a creative photographer from West Palm Beach, Florida. Fun fact: She once won $1,000 from Kevin Hart.
Taylor Mayer
UF journalism senior from Miami Beach, Florida, who loves telling stories and romance novels. Fun fact: She does a “mean” Borat impression.
Sandra Mcdonald
UF journalism junior from Ocala, Florida, who loves Taylor Swift. Fun fact: She’s itching to lead a group on a “Dungeons & Dragons” adventure.
gabriela rodriguez
UF journalism senior from North Miami Beach, Florida, who enjoys reporting on arts and culture. Fun fact: She runs @gabyeats_ on Instagram.
serra sowers
UF journalism junior and an aspiring podcaster from Longwood, Florida. Fun fact: She’s been surfing since she was 10.
aIYANNA SUMMERLIN
FAMU broadcast journalism senior and an aspiring producer from Orlando, Florida. Fun fact: She’s half Korean.
PERYONNA SYLVESTER
FAMU graphic design major and a women’s basketball team member from Daytona Beach, Florida. Fun fact: She loves to be creative.
HERBERT LOWE
UF senior journalism lecturer from Camden, New Jersey, and a former reporter at seven different newspapers. Fun fact: He birdied the seventh hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
kALISHA WHITMAN
UF multimedia news manager from Hamilton, Alabama, and FAMU alumnus. Fun fact: She led teaching trips in West Africa in 2019 and 2022.
mIRA LOWE
Dean of the FAMU School of Journalism & Graphic Communication, from Brooklyn, New York. Fun fact: She jumped out of a plane in Hawaii in 2015.
STANLEY JOHNSON
FAMU visiting professor and an award-winning international photographer from Quincy, Florida. Fun fact: He has taken vacations in seven countries including Brazil and Italy.
Special thanks
Ted Spiker and Cally House
CJC Department of Journalism
Katrice Graham, Ed.D.
CJC Knight Division for Scholarship and Student Inclusion
Margaret Gaylord
CJC Office of the Dean
Denise Vickers
CJC Innovation News Center
Paris Coughlin
Web Production
With Respect and Appreciation
The Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice
Selma Interpretive Center
Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center
Emmett Till Interpretive Center
Sumner Grille
Delta Blues Museum
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
William J. Clinton Presidential Center
National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History and Reconciliation Foundation
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
U.S. National Park Service
Acknowledgments
Matthew Abramson
William Baxley
Scott Bridges, Ph.D.
Kathleen Bunton
Deanna Clay
George Daniels, Ph.D.
Deborah D. Douglas
Billy Field
Rachel Grant, Ph.D.
Dale Goter
Alicia Hope, M.F.A.
Genevieve Jean
Craig Lee
Lori Linenberger
Ethan Magoc
Benjamin Saulsberry
Danny Steele
Ed Thomas
Johnny B. Thomas
Ryan Vasquez
Patrick Weems
Martha West-Crump
Christian Whitaker
Olivia White
Gerry Whitman
Ruthie Mae Whitman
Alexis Whitman